Althouse: "The 106-year-old Whang-Od... has been perfecting the art of hand-tapping tattoos since she was a teen, learning under her father's instruction."

April 5, 2023

"The 106-year-old Whang-Od... has been perfecting the art of hand-tapping tattoos since she was a teen, learning under her father's instruction."

Reports CNN, at "A 106-year-old from the Philippines is Vogue's oldest ever cover model."

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41 comments:

Rusty said...: Doesn't look a day over 90.
(You that was coming.); 4/5/23, 8:19 AM
Dave Begley said...: Hey, just think about how *great* those tats looked when she was younger!

Tats and rap are the two most destructive forces of today’s popular culture. Add in drug use - and all that goes with that - and that’s why we are at where we are now.; 4/5/23, 8:19 AM
Ficta said...: Vogu? Tag typo, presumably, but I hear it in my head as the Japanese pronunciation of "Vogue".; 4/5/23, 8:25 AM
CJinPA said...: Everyone is beautiful in one way or another. But tattoos make everyone less beautiful. That's a indisputable fact.; 4/5/23, 8:46 AM
RMc said...: Whang-od was born in 1917, the same year as John F. Kennedy -- who's been dead for almost 60 years. (In extraordinary circumstances, to be sure, but still.); 4/5/23, 9:17 AM
Yancey Ward said...: I call bullshit on "106 years old". She is at least 16 years younger than that.; 4/5/23, 9:27 AM
Joe Smith said...: So the house tattooed on her left breast is now a skyscraper?; 4/5/23, 9:32 AM
tim maguire said...: She looks good for 106. I wonder how many hours went into those arms.; 4/5/23, 9:35 AM
gahrie said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/5/23, 9:38 AM
Darkisland said...: Are Filipinos Latino? (or Hispanic if you prefer?)

Whatever her ethnicity, good on her for hanging on so long and preserving her culture. She looks to be in pretty good shape.

John Henry; 4/5/23, 10:00 AM
Lurker21 said...: I guess they can get away with it because they are "Philippines Vogue," but there's usually a patronizing pandering note in articles like this one. "O look at these proud people with their ancestral ways." The line between sincere appreciation and patronizing condescension can be hard to draw.; 4/5/23, 10:01 AM
Rollo said...: My parents told me I would look like that if I didn't stop whanging od.; 4/5/23, 10:07 AM
Rusty said...: knew; 4/5/23, 10:34 AM
Rusty said...: CJinPA said...
"Everyone is beautiful in one way or another. But tattoos make everyone less beautiful. That's a indisputable fact."
The tattoos do a pretty good job of covering a lot of wrinkles and crepey skin. If I were 90 I'd hit that.
COB (cool old broad); 4/5/23, 10:37 AM
n.n said...: Tales from the Crypt; 4/5/23, 10:38 AM
PM said...: Beautiful.
Wonder if the lipstick was her idea or Vogue's. Seems out-of-character with the ink.; 4/5/23, 10:52 AM
Humperdink said...: She was made in God's image. Apparently not pleased with the result.; 4/5/23, 11:02 AM
Robert Cook said...: "Tats and rap are the two most destructive forces of today’s popular culture."

Why? How so? They're not to your taste, and that's fine. How are they objectively "destructive?"; 4/5/23, 11:28 AM
Robert Cook said...: "...tattoos make everyone less beautiful. That's a(n) indisputable fact."

I dispute that.; 4/5/23, 11:29 AM
Eva Marie said...: It’s interesting the makeup choices they made. Lipstick applied past the lip line to make her lips fuller according to present fashion. Powder added to her eyebrows for definition and also to add fullness per today’s beauty standards. Nose hair clipped. A little shadow under her eyes, a little blush on her cheeks. Probably some concealer to lighten her skin blemishes - but not eliminate them because they are also in vogue now. Of course all of the cosmetic changes could have just as well been Photoshopped after the fact - along with the clarity of the tats.; 4/5/23, 11:30 AM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: They may look good now, but she is gonna regret those tattoos when she gets older...; 4/5/23, 11:49 AM
Tina Trent said...: Most claims of extreme old age are disputed in non-First World countries. However she look very old and very happy, so Mazel Tov.

Except for the tattoos, of course.; 4/5/23, 12:19 PM
CJinPA said...: I dispute that.

How many examples are there of a person's beauty being enhanced by tattoos?; 4/5/23, 12:46 PM
Rusty said...: Rusty's Law of Tattoos, Piercings and Spandex. At any given time in any given population roughly 2% of any population at any time look good in tattoos, piercings or spandex. The odds of it being you are extremely small. Conduct yourself accordingly.; 4/5/23, 12:55 PM
Dave Begley said...: Robert Cook:

1. Tats are a graphic mutilation of the body. We were all made in the image and likeness of God and tats are not part of the equation. No one is born with a tat.

Tats started when SLAVES were marked by their masters. Don't forget what the Nazis did to the prisoners in the death camps.

Savages and convicts are big on tats. Savages are those who don't believe in God. Tats are also a big tribal thing.

I will never forget the day I was in the big museum in Chicago to see a French Impressionist exhibit. A beautiful young woman had on a sun dress and there was a giant - and ugly - tat the width of her shoulder blades.

2. Rap. Read the lyrics. Check out the uninteresting music. Just a driving drum beat.

Politics are downstream from culture. As our popular culture is degraded, our civic life and regular life are going down the drain.

And, of course, add in our national drug culture. Multimillionaire Bill Lee was stabbed to death in San Fran. Look at the murder rate in Chicago. How many of those gang bangers are involved in the drug trade, they have tats and listen to rap?; 4/5/23, 1:07 PM
gahrie said...: Why? How so? They're not to your taste, and that's fine. How are they objectively "destructive?"

They promote thug culture.; 4/5/23, 1:42 PM
Old and slow said...: "They may look good now, but she is gonna regret those tattoos when she gets older..."

Ain't that the truth!; 4/5/23, 2:03 PM
JAORE said...: Hand tapping? As in:

Her production had a tremendous boost as her Parkinson's advanced.; 4/5/23, 2:21 PM
Rabel said...: Whang's Dang Doodles would be a pretty good marketing slogan.

All night long.; 4/5/23, 2:39 PM
Wince said...: "The 106-year-old Whang-Od... has been perfecting the art of hand-tapping tattoos since she was a teen..."

I wonder how people react when she looks at someone and says, "I'd tap that."; 4/5/23, 2:59 PM
Eva Marie said...: What’s the woke way of saying white is better than black without saying white is better than black?
Getting tats. It’s the only reason for their popularity.; 4/5/23, 3:05 PM
effinayright said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/5/23, 4:00 PM
Robert Marshall said...: Somewhat off-topic, but the most tatted-up folks I've seen in photos recently are the inmates of El Salvador's gangster prison, such as in this article: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-64770716

It's hard to imagine how the gangs get any actual crime done, what with having to sit in the tattoo artists chair for hours at a time!

If that El Salvador prison doesn't have any deterrent effect, no prison ever will. Wow! It's design basis seems to be: get the prisoners so overcrowded they kill each other off, or start a riot to the same effect. Problem solved, I guess.; 4/5/23, 4:31 PM
Christy said...: I find her attractive. Her dignity, the extreme simplicity of her garment, the fun of two sets of beads strung entirely separately, the coherent tattoos, the intelligence in her eyes ... all make her someone, along with the Vogue stylist (and translator, naturally) with whom I'd enjoy chatting.

Initially I was repulsed by the patronizing vibe of mid-century National Geographic, but the more I looked the more I liked. I also find her potentially very sad, a woman who could not change her mind or commitment for 90 years.; 4/5/23, 4:49 PM
Amadeus 48 said...: Vogue gets ready for Biden's reelection campaign.; 4/5/23, 5:35 PM
BUMBLE BEE said...: Yikes Scales!; 4/5/23, 5:50 PM
BUMBLE BEE said...: Cookie, that is not an argument. That is just a contradiction.; 4/5/23, 5:54 PM
Greybeard said...: I'll never thing you can improve on God's work.
No matter how old ya are.; 4/5/23, 7:28 PM
effinayright said...: Joe Smith said...
So the house tattooed on her left breast is now a skyscraper?
******************

Or like an Egyptian obelisk?

heh; 4/5/23, 9:39 PM
John henry said...: The cool thing about the Salvadoran tats is that they are gang identifiers. Originally so the gang members could not quit and also to scare the shit out of anyone they came in contact with.

Then recently the govt made it illegal to be a gang member and made the tats a presumption of guilt. They went out and arrested anyone tattooed like an orc. Didn't need to charge a crime though if they could. Gang membership was enough. They've locked up 20-30,000 so far.

Since the tats are never going away, they can essentially be held for life.

It really sucks but at least they don't have Alvin Bragg.

On the bright side, they had a day, not a week, just one day with no murders last month. First one in 30 years or so.

John Henry; 4/5/23, 10:58 PM
donald said...: My girlfriend has four. Definitely not a thug, just yer basic California surfer blond hair, blue eyes gypsy girl. Definitely. Not. A. thug.; 4/6/23, 4:00 AM