Wounded Bodies of Resistance: Political Tattoos in and after the 2019 Anti-Extradition Bill Movement in Hong Kong

Abstract

Tattooing modifies the body and heals psychological injuries. Existing studies, however, seldom relate tattooing to the handling of wounding experiences in social movements, a field that has long assumed the use of the healthy and active body and slighted the wounded, vulnerable body. Drawing on interview data and analysing tattoo narratives, I examine the political tattoos created during and after the 2019 Anti-Extradition Bill Movement in Hong Kong and unfold how the traumatic experiences of encountering state violence and physical injuries can be coped with and transformed into resources that keep activists politically engaged and resilient. First, tattooing renders wounding experiences tactical as it helps record counter-hegemonic memories and visualise them as subversive messages. Second, tattooing is a therapeutic process that heals traumatised activists, through which supportive emotional bonds are also built. Third, the tattoo connects, linking expatriate activists by maintaining political identification and consolidating affective ties across time-space.