Why some young people start to tattoo their bodies? And why some of them keep going on with this practice, until having all body tattooed? What doing so means to them? These are some of the questions that underlie a qualitative research project carried out in Portugal on heavily tattooed young people. In this article, the author discusses their embodied trajectory from the first experiences to their involvement in a body project, and explains the meanings involved in this extreme corporeality. The analysis takes into consideration the structural dynamics that define how young people live their transitions and their identity construction nowadays to contextualize what appears as individual experiences and projects without reifying the individual as a privileged site of knowledge. Based on in-deph comprehensive interviews, the author demonstrates that the engagement of young people in this permanent body modification project represents an embodied struggle for the maintenance of a desired subjectivity. In an increasingly liquid and uncertain society, some young people ink larges extensions of their bodies searching for social recognition as different, authentic, and autonomous individuals and trying to maintain their core identity during transitional turning points.
AbbottA. (1992). What do cases do? Some notes on activity in sociological analysis. In RaginC. C.BeckerH. S. (Eds.), What is a case? Exploring the foundations of social inquiry (pp. 53-82). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
2.
ArcherM. S. (2003). Structure, agency and the internal conversation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
3.
AtkinsonM. (2002). Pretty in ink: Conformity, resistance, and negotiation in women’s tattooing. Sex Roles, 47, 219-235.
4.
AtkinsonM. (2003). Tattooed. The sociogenesis of a body art. Toronto, Onatario, Canada: University of Toronto Press.
5.
BajoitG. (1999). Notes sur la construction de l’identité personnelle [Notes on the construction of personal identity]. Recherches Sociologiques, 2, 69-84.
6.
BaumanZ. (2007). Liquid times. Living in an age of uncertainty. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
7.
BeckU. (1996). The reinvention of politics. Rethinking modernity in the global social order. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
8.
BengtssonA.OstbergJ.KjeldgaardD. (2005). Prisoners in paradise: Subcultural resistance to the marketization of tattooing. Consumption, Markets and Culture, 8, 261-274.
9.
BensonS. (2000). Inscriptions of the self. Reflections on tattooing and piercing in contemporary Euro-America. In CaplanJ. (Ed.), Written on the body. The tattoo in European and American history (pp. 234-254). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press,.
10.
BlanchardM. (1991). Post-bourgeois tattoo. Reflections on skin writing in late capitalist societies. Visual Anthropology Review, 7(2), 11-21.
11.
BloorM.WoodF. (2006). Keywords in qualitative methods. A vocabulary of research concepts. London, UK: SAGE.
12.
BogdanR. (1994). Le commerce des monsters [Trade monsters]. Actes de la Recherche en Sciences Sociales, 104, 34-46.
13.
BrücknerH.MayerK. U. (2005). De-standardization of the life course: What it might mean? And if it means anything, whether if actually took place? In MacmillanR. (Ed.), The structure of the life course: Standardized? Individualized? Differentiated? (Vol. 9, pp. 27-53). London, UK: Elsevier.
14.
CalabreseO. (1992). Neo-baroque. A sign of the times. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
15.
CamphausenR. C. (1997). Return of the tribal. A celebration of body adornment. Rochester, VT: Park Street Press.
16.
CaplanJ. (Ed.). (2000). Written on the body. The tattoo in European and American history. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
17.
ClastresP. (1989). Society against the state. Essays in political anthropology. New York, NY: Zone Books. (Original work published 1974)
18.
CraikJ. (1994). The face of fashion. Cultural studies in fashion. London, UK: Routledge.
19.
DeMelloM. (1993). The convict body: Tattooing among male American prisoners. Anthropology Today, 9(6), 10-13.
20.
DeMelloM. (1995). Not just for bikers anymore: Popular representation of American tattooing. Journal of Popular Culture, 29, 37-52.
21.
DeMelloM. (2000). Bodies of inscription. A cultural history of the modern tattoo community. London, UK: Duke University Press.
FavazzaA. R. (1996). Bodies under siege. Self-mutilation and body modification in culture and psychiatry. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. (Original work published 1987)
24.
FeatherstoneM. (1999). Body modification: An introduction. Body & Society, 5, 1-13.
25.
FerreiraV. S. (2003). Atitudes dos jovens Portugueses perante o corpo [Attitudes of young Portuguese before the body]. In PaisJ. M.CabralM. V. (Eds.), Condutas de risco, práticas culturais e atitudes perante o corpo (pp. 265-366). Oeiras, Lisbon, Portugal: Celta.
26.
FerreiraV. S. (2007). Política do corpo e política de vida. A tatuagem e o body piercing como expressão corporal de uma ética da dissidência [Body politics and political life. The tattoo and body piercing as a bodily expression of an ethic of dissent]. Etnográfica, 11, 291-326.
27.
FerreiraV. S. (2008). Marcas que demarcam. Tatuagem, body piercing e culturas juvenis [Marks for demarcation. Tattooing, body piercing and youth cultures]. Lisbon, Portugal: Imprensa de Ciências Sociais.
28.
FerreiraV. S. (2009). Youth scenes, body marks and bio-sociabilities. Young—Nordic Journal of Youth Research, 18, 285-306.
29.
FerreiraV. S.NunesC. (2010). Les trajectories de passage à l’âge adulte en Europe [The trajectories of transition to adulthood in Europe]. Politiques Sociales et Familiales, 102, 21-38.
30.
FisherJ. A. (2002). Tattooing the body, marking culture. Body and Society, 8, 91-107.
31.
FlemingJ. (2000). The renaissance tattoo. In CaplanJ. (Ed.), Written on the body. The tattoo in European and American history (pp. 61-82). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
32.
FriedR. I. (1983). The psychodynamics of tattooing: A review. Cleveland Clinical Quarterly, 50, 239-242.
33.
GiddensA. (1991). Modernity and self-identity. Self and society in the late modern age. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
34.
GoffmanE. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life. New York, NY: Doubleday.
35.
GoodeE.VailD. A. (2008). Extreme deviance. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.
36.
GovenarA. (1988). The variable context of chicano tattooing. In RubinA. (Ed.), Marks of civilization. Artistic transformation of the human body (pp. 209-218). Los Angeles, CA: Museum of Cultural History.
37.
GovenarA. (2000). The changing image of tattooing in American Culture: 1846-1966. In CaplanJ. (Ed.), Written on the body. The tattoo in European and American history (pp. 212-233). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
38.
HardinM. (1999). Mar(k) ing the objected body: A reading of contemporary female tattooing. Fashion Theory, 3(1), 81-108.
39.
HarevenT. K.MasaokaK. (1988). Turning points and transitions: Perceptions of the life course. Journal of Family History, 13, 271-289.
40.
HarperD. (1992). Small N’s and community case studies. In RaginC. C.BeckerH. S. (Eds.), What is a case? Exploring the foundations of social inquiry (pp. 139-158). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
41.
HewittK. (1997). Mutilating the body. Identity in blood and ink. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University Press.
42.
HigginsT. (1987). Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self and affect. Psychological Review, 94, 319-340.
43.
HodkinsonP. (2005). “Insider research” in the study of youth cultures. Journal of Youth Studies, 8(2), 131-149.
44.
IrwinK. (2001). Legitimating the first tattoo: Moral passage through informal interaction. Symbolic Interaction, 12, 119-173.
KlesseC. (1999). ‘‘Modern primitivism’’. Non-mainstream body modification and racialized representation. Body and Society, 5(2-3), 15-38.
47.
KochJ. R.RobertsA. E.ArmstrongM. L.OwenD. C. (2009). Body art, deviance and American college students. Social Science Journal, 47, 151-161.
48.
KosutM. (2006a). Mad artists and tattooed perverts. Deviant discourse and the social construction of cultural categories. Deviant Behavior, 27(1), 73-95.
49.
KosutM. (2006b). An ironic fad: The commodification and consumption of tattoos. Journal of Popular Culture, 39, 1035-1948.
50.
LacassagneA. (1881). Recherches sur les tatouages et principalement du tatouage chez les criminals [Research on tattoos and tattooing mainly in criminals]. Annales d’Hygiène Publique, Industrielle et Sociale, 3, 288-304.
51.
Le BretonD. (1995). Anthropologie de la douleur [Anthropology of pain]. Paris, France: Métailié.
52.
Le BretonD. (2000). Figures du corps accessoire: Marques corporelles, culturisme, transsexualisme, etc [Figures of the body accessories: Body markings, bodybuilding, transsexualism, etc]. In FintzC. (Ed.), Les imaginaires du corps. Tome 2—Arts, sociologie, anthropologie. Pour une approche interdisciplinaire du corps (pp.207-231). Paris, France: L’Harmattan.
53.
Le BretonD. (2002). Signes d’identité. Tatouages, piercings et autres marques corporelles [Signs of identity. Tattoos, piercings and other body markings]. Paris, France: Métailié.
54.
Lévi-StraussC. (1963). Structural anthropology. New York, NY: Basic Books.
MaccormackP. (2006). The great ephemeral tattooed skin. Body & Society, 12(2), 57-82.
57.
MaffesoliM. (2002). La transfiguration du politique. La tribalisation du monde postmoderne [The transfiguration of politics. The tribalism of postmodern world]. Paris, France: La Table Moderne. (Original work published 1992)
58.
MaroyC. (1997). A análise qualitativa de entrevistas [Qualitative analysis of interviews]. In AlbarelloL.DigneffeF.HiernauxJ.-P.MaroyC.RuquoyD.de Saint-GeorgesP. (Eds.), Práticas e Métodos de Investigação em Ciências Sociais (pp. 117-155). Lisbon, Portugal: Gradiva. (Original work published 1995)
59.
McDonaldK. (1999). Struggles for subjectivity. Identity, action and youth experience. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
60.
Mendes de AlmeidaM. I. (2000). Nada além da epiderme: A performance romântica da tatuagem [Nothing but the epidermis: The performance of the romantic tattoo]. Psicologia Clínica, 12(2), 100-147.
61.
MertonR. (1972). Insiders and outsiders: A chapter in the sociology of knowledge. In Varieties of political expression in sociology (pp. 9-47). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press,.
62.
MifflinM. (1997). Bodies of subversion. A secret history of women and tattoo. New York, NY: Juno Books.
63.
MyersJ. (1992). Nonmainstream body modification. Genital piercing, branding, burning and cutting. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 21, 267-306.
64.
OettermannS. (2000). On display: Tattooed entertainers in America and Germany. In CaplanJ. (Ed.), Written on the body: The tattoo in European and American history (pp. 193-211). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
65.
PaisJ. M. (2003). The multiple faces of the future in the labyrinth of life. Journal of Youth Studies, 6(2), 115-126.
66.
PeixotoR. (1990). A tatuagem em Portugal [The tattoo in Portugal]. In Etnografia portuguesa (pp. 15-43). Lisbon, Portugal: Dom Quixote.
67.
PhillipsS. A. (2001). Gallo’s body. Decoration and damnation in the life of a Chicago gang member. Ethnography, 2, 357-388.
68.
PittsV. (1998). “Reclaiming” the female body: Embodied identity work, resistance, and the grotesque. Body & Society, 4(3), 67-84.
69.
PittsV. (1999). Body modification, self mutilation and agency in media accounts of a subculture. Body & Society, 5, 291-303.
70.
PittsV. (2003). In the flesh. The cultural politics of body modification. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
71.
PutninsA. (2002). Young offenders, tattoos and recidivism. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law9(1), 62-68.
72.
RicoeurP. (1992). Oneself as another. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. (Original work published 1990)
73.
RileyS.CahillS. (2005). Managing meaning and belonging: Young women’s negotiation of authenticity in body art. Journal of Youth Studies, 8, 261-279.
74.
RubinA. (1988). Tattoo renaissance. In RubinA. (Ed.), Marks of civilization. Artistic transformation of the human body. Los Angeles, CA: Museum of Cultural History.
75.
RuquoyD. (1997). Situação de entrevista e estratégia do entrevistador [Interview situation and strategy of the interviewer]. In AlbarelloL.DigneffeF.HiernauxJ.-P.MaroyC.RuquoyD.de Saint-GeorgesP. (Eds.), Práticas e métodos de investigação em ciências sociais (pp. 84-116). Lisbon, Portugal: Gradiva. (Original work published 1995)
76.
SandersC. R. (1989). Customizing the body. The art and culture of tattooing. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
77.
SandersC. R. (1991). Memorial decoration: Women, tattooing, and the meaning of body alteration. Michigan Quartely Review, 30, 146-157.
78.
ShillingC. (1991). Educating the body, physical capital and the production of social inequalities. Sociology, 25, 653-672.
79.
ShillingC. (1993). The body and social theory. London, UK: SAGE.
80.
StewardS. M. (1990). Bad boys and tough tattoos. A social history of the tattoo with gangs, sailors, and street corner punks 1950-1965. New York, NY: Haworth Press.
81.
SweetmanP. (1999). Anchoring the (postmodern) self? Body modification, fashion and identity. Body & Society, 5(2-3), 51-76.
82.
TiggemannM.GolderF. (2006). Tattooing: An expression of uniqueness in the appearance domain. Body Image, 3, 309-315.
83.
TrillingL. (1971). Sincerity and authenticity. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
84.
TurnerB. S. (1999). The possibility of primitiveness: Towards a sociology of body marks in cool societies. Body & Society, 5(2-3), 39-50.
85.
TurnerT. (1980). The social skin. In CherfasJ.LewinR. (Eds.), Not work alone. A cross-cultural view of activities superfluous to survival (pp. 112-140). London, UK: Temple Smith.
86.
VailA. (1999). Tattoos are like potato chips. . . You can’t have just one: The process of becoming a tattoo collector. Deviant Behaviour, 20, 253-273.
87.
Van GennepA. (1981). Les rites de passage. Paris, France: Picard. (Original work published 1909)
88.
WinchelR. M.StanleyM. (1991). Self-injurious behavior: A review of the behavior and biology of self-mutilation. American Journal of Psychiatry, 148, 306-317.
