Changing the Future One Tattooed Woman at a Time

By Alison Zawadski

You’ve seen their logo on all of your favorite bands’ Web sites and you may have seen them at concerts, tattoo conventions and charitable events in your community. But who are the Gypsy Queens? Are they models? Are they marketing and PR specialists? Are they activists and advocates? The answer: yes.

Whom do we have to thank for the Gypsy Queens? A 12-year-old girl named Heaven with her own fan club.

“My daughter saved my life from that lifestyle [of drugs, abuse and a lack of self respect],” said Frankie Scorpion, the 37-year-old woman who started GQ four years ago. “For me, I feel that women have forgotten the ethics, integrity and self respect that women should have amongst each other,” Scorpion said. “I wanted to start the organization because I was a very broken girl and could have used a lot of support, but I didn’t have it, so now the sisterhood provides that kind of support.”

But what is it really that led a 33-year-old Scorpion to found the sisterhood?

“I was raped and molested, beaten by 90% of my boyfriends, was in a mental hospital, tried to commit suicide at least 32 times in my life, was a dancer and was in jail,” Scorpion explained. “Oh, I was also a drug addict, I always seem to forget that. A lot of that stemmed from a lack of respect I had for myself…I’m also a high school dropout, my last completed year was ninth grade. …I have to be honest to give those girls [the Gypsy Queens] the benefit of my honesty if they don’t have that self respect.”

Through that honesty a sincere sisterhood was born, and from that sisterhood, an unending list of good deeds has come. These women do it all, and they do it with style. Scorpion has developed a sisterhood and network of the most talented heavily tattooed women around. Actually, they’re the most intelligent and hard-working women around, with or without tattoos.

The sisterhood spans 66 chapters in four countries and is growing with new chapters springing up in Canada and Australia.

“My goal is to be able to employ 5,200 tattooed females in the next year. This economy is really affecting everyone and I want to be able to help,” Scorpion said.

The Gypsy Queens is truly a business now and has been separated from the sisterhood, which is more about support for women than it is about money. With all the changes and expansion facing the GQ, they’ve had to become more selective. In the past, anyone interested was able to become a GQ, but now, new members are accepted by invite only. Another change that has been made recently is that the girls are able to make money from all the hard work they put into the organization through modeling and other speaking engagements. They have also recently added a celebrity branch to the GQ including Brandy M from VH-1’s “Charm School,” Mistress Juliya, and Heidi Minx, who started her own clothing line and later quit the fashion business and decided to dedicate her life to Built on Respect, a movement to teach others ways in which to better their own lives. There is currently a waiting list of other celebrities looking to become Gypsy Queens.

The Gypsy Queens business is split into three sections: the GQ Movement, modeling and GQ Go Green. While the modeling and green aspects are pretty straightforward, the GQ Movement is the heart of the organization. This part of the business focuses on changing tattoo laws and protecting the interest of reputable tattoo artists and shops, animal rights, human rights, adopting highways, fundraising and charity.

The Massachusetts chapter of the GQ Movement is represented by Marie Cole, a 21-year-old student from Watertown. As the Mass. chapter rep, it’s Cole’s job to bring awareness about the GQ to her area; she has also been able to give input to her superiors about causes that are important to her and to her area.

“If it’s something enough of us feel passionate about, it becomes something we support,” Cole said. “There was one I really liked that helped build homes for returning injured vets, it’s called Homes for our Troops.”

When the Gypsy Queens are out supporting other organizations, such as NCOS, the National Center for Online Safety ~ an organization aimed at catching online predators ~ they’re also hoping to extend their own message of positivity and acceptance.

“Our goal is to change the world. If we start one by one changing the perspective of women, we can change the future,” Scorpion said. “We’re here to create a better live for ourselves and those around us; paying it forward to any woman who crosses your path. And it’s not always easy, womanhood, I didn’t become a woman over night, I’m 37 and have so many more experiences than most, but I have so much more to learn. When you’re humble enough to learn that you’re not just a teacher, but a student, and when you can teach another woman that, you can get back to basics.”

Scorpion also says that by building up girls’ self worth, it gives them a way to “show off their assets, their intellectual assets.”

Simply put by Cole: “The GQs are not tattooed girls who go to concerts, we’re impassioned women who are actively involved in our community who have tattoos.”

To learn more about the Gypsy Queens, visit myspacec.com/thegqs. To learn more about Homes for our Troops, please visit homesforourtroops.org.