Lydia the Tattooed Lady Wreck of the Hesperus" (beside it), the red, white and blue (above them); the cities of Kankakee and "Paree", "Washington Crossing the Delaware", President Andrew Jackson, Niagara, Alcatraz, Buffalo Bill, Captain Spaulding (Groucho's character in Animal Crackers) exploring the Amazon, Lady Godiva (with her pajamas on), Grover Whalen, the Trylon, Treasure Island, Nijinsky, Social Security Number and a fleet of ships (on her hips). Alternate lyrics imply that Lydia's buttocks have tattoos of a globe (or a map of the world) and a caricature of Hitler (that she sits on). In 1950, Groucho famously 'stopped' trading at the New York
Tattooed Lady still faced harsh scrutiny for their appearance. However, with their limited options taken into consideration, the pay-off was ultimately worth it and women during the time period continued to perform. During the 1930s and onward, tattooed ladies deviated from fictionalized captivity narratives and boldly accounted for their choice of profession more freely. When asked in 1931 why she acquired her tattoos, May Vandermark quipped, "I love Art…and that's true, too—up to a certain point…I mean, I like to eat regular." Vandermark found that performing as a tattooed lady garnered a higher profit than working as a stenographer. According to a