In today’s world, where the boundaries of self-expression are constantly expanding, tattoo culture is no longer a marker of rebellion and has become a form of art. However, for those who choose radical changes to their appearance, the price of this freedom can be high. The story of 39-year-old Carly Edjobamu from Sheffield is a prime example of how the love for body art clashes with conservative societal views and the cruelty of internet trolls.
From a Broken Heart to Green Hair
Carly began her journey into the world of tattoos six years ago. This step was a reaction to a painful breakup. Initially, she just wanted to hide the pain or mark a new chapter in her life, but the result exceeded all expectations. In 2020, she got her first facial tattoo – a moon above her eyebrow. This moment became the point of no return. Carly didn’t just fall in love with tattoos; she immersed herself in them, buying her own equipment and starting to do tattoos herself.
Today, Carly is a person with a striking appearance: bright green hair, multiple piercings, and over 120 tattoos covering her body and face. She invests significant funds in her image, with the total amount spent on appearance modification being around £22,000. For her, these are not just decorations but a way to express herself and her love.
A Wedding Without Guests, But With a Tattoo Machine
One of the most touching moments in Carly’s story is related to her wedding. Instead of a traditional wedding with a banquet and guests, she and her husband, 40-year-old Aesop Edjobamu, decided to spend the day their own way. They got married at the registry office and then returned home to prepare dinner. As a wedding gift, Carly spent £300 on a tattoo kit.
Using this machine, she tattooed a dedication to her husband on her face. On her forehead, she wrote the letter ‘A’ and the numbers ‘224’. To the uninitiated, it’s just a set of symbols, but for the couple, it has a deep meaning: ‘224’ translates to ‘today, tomorrow, forever.’ Carly admits it sounds a bit cheesy, but it’s these little things that make their relationship special.
War with Internet Trolls
Although Carly feels happy with her image, the world outside her family is not always ready to accept her. She recently posted a selfie with her husband, not realizing that her Facebook profile was open to everyone. The result was devastating. Within 20 minutes, the photo was flooded with thousands of comments.
Haters did not hold back their emotions, calling her a “monster,” an “ugly person,” and claiming she was mentally ill. The most painful for Carly were the comments about her children. People wrote that her children would be better off without her, that they should be taken into care, and even urged her to commit suicide.
Family Support Against Online Hate
Carly notes that she has “thick skin,” but admits that such aggression could break another person’s psyche. She even temporarily left social media to regain her mental balance. However, upon returning four months ago, she changed her tactics. Now she posts photos with new piercings and provocative captions, like “aging gracefully,” specifically to provoke the haters.
Carly finds it particularly amusing when trolls use artificial intelligence. Some users take her photos, remove all tattoos and piercings using AI, and send them to her, claiming “this is how you should look.” Carly laughs at this, noting that even before the tattoos, she didn’t look the way they wanted her to.
Raising Children in an Atmosphere of Freedom
The main argument against Carly is her children. She has four children aged one, three, eight, and 14. However, contrary to the haters’ expectations, the children do not suffer from her appearance. On the contrary, they are proud of their mother. Her husband, Aesop, has become her main defender, even arguing with online commenters. He fully supports her choices, as he knows what she went through to become herself.
The mother’s influence on the children is evident. Her 14-year-old daughter has already found her style: she has shaved her head and dyes her hair with patterns. Carly sees this as a great example of how important it is to be yourself. She recounts showing her eight-year-old son old photos of her without tattoos, and he honestly replied that she looked terrible in them. For Carly, this is the best compliment: she has managed to teach her children to accept themselves and not be afraid to be unique.
Carly Edjobamu’s story is a reminder that beauty and normality are relative concepts. To some, she is a “monster,” but to her family, she is a loving mother and an inspiring individual.