'Glenys the Menace', 77, says older women should not be afraid to get tattoos
Glenys Coope has spoken out about getting tattoos later in life, saying it is her choice what she adorns her body with.
Glenys Coope loves tattoos. When she met and eventually married her husband Walter, she had to put her love of body art aside. He did not approve of tattoos and even paid for Glenys to have the body art surgically removed.
Now, after Walter's passing, Glenys is rediscovering her love of tattoos and reclaiming her right to express herself through body art. She began by getting a heart tattooed on her chest in her husband's honour.
The 77-year-old great-grandmother has fondly become known as "Glenys the Menace", and tattoo artist Gerry Carnelly of Octopus Tattoo in Derby, England loves it when she comes in for a new piece of art: "It makes people think twice about their preconceptions and their judgements about older people."
When asked what she thinks her husband would think about her renewed vigour for tattoos, Glenys says, "I honestly don't know."
But she is not doing it to spite him. Glenys is into getting tattoos because she enjoys bucking societal conventions. About the general taboo of older women getting tattoos, Glenys says: "I'd say to older women like me, if you want a tattoo go for it. Don't bother what other people say."