The adorned feminine body: a qualitative exploration of media representations of tattooed women in the UK

In this study, we explore how women with tattoos are portrayed in digital media. With a focus on the construction of femininities, we present a media analysis of digital articles and associated imagery published between September 2013 and February 2014 where women with tattoos are discussed and portrayed. A comprehensive search was conducted, with twenty five articles identified. The poster will focus on five of those articles, which are analysed through the means of Foucauldian Discourse Analysis. Our analysis explores how women with tattoos are constructed, analysing textual and visual representations in the digital media, to consider its implications for our understanding of femininities and embodiment in contemporary neoliberal British culture. The findings of the study contribute to our understanding of women with tattoos, by considering the 'fashion' aspect of body art, and the notion that there is a right and wrong way to be tattooed. There is also a clear difference between tasteful, discreet tattoos, and tattoos that are considered inappropriate. Think links to ideas of self-expression through decoration of the skin

‘Flowers are more of a feminine thing than say, a skull’: constructions and representations of women’s tattooed bodies

By being tattooed, people are able to express who they are, display what they have overcome and state how they see themselves within their social worlds (Anderson, 2014). As the tattooed female body can be seen as a subversive act against normative hegemonic social constructions of femininity (Atkinson, 2002), tattoos on the bodies of women are often framed negatively, out of traditional representations of what it means to be a feminine woman. This research explores the ways in which tattooed women portray themselves and their identities through their bodies, and the ways in which tattoos can often be mis/interpreted by others. In addition, the consideration for how placement and style of a tattoo can come to embody or rebel against traditional notions of femininity. Using semi-structured interviews, ten women of various ages, gained through convenience sampling, were invited to discuss topics relating to femininity, their tattoos and their identities. The focus of the analysis considered the individual lived experiences of the women, and centred on what factors formed their experiences. The conclusions drawn from the research highlight the importance of the consideration of women’s lived experiences of tattoos, rather than generalising to stereotypical societal representations and constructions of tattooed women

‘I never want to go back to being that person’ – tattoos as embodiment of strength and identities in the aftermath of abuse

Tattoos act as a form of communication, and a means of self expression. Tattoos enable an expression and performance of who people think they are, what they have overcome and how they see themselves within their social worlds (Anderson, 2014). For women tattoos take on specific gendered and embodied meanings. The tattooed female body can be seen as a subversive act against normative hegemonic social constructions of femininity (Atkinson, 2002). Tattoos on the bodies of women are often framed negatively, as exceeding traditional representations of what it means to be a feminine woman (e.g. tattoos might be described derogatively as ‘tramp stamps’). Body modification is often read culturally as a form of mutilation Pitts (1999). Some academic and media representations of tattooing pathologises body modification as ‘self harm’, supporting the negative representations of those who mark their body deliberately as ‘sick’ or ‘troubled’. This is particularly concerning when it intersects with women’s histories of sexual or gendered violence, where self-harm has been particularly problemmatised in academic and professional literature. However, many women who are victim-survivors see the marking of their body with tattoos as a memorialisation of their sense of survival. . This research explores the ways in which women draw strength from their tattoos, and embody identities through their tattooed bodies, after overcoming abuse. In addition, the ways in which tattoos can provide meaning and symbolism are considered, with respect to the ways that society required justification for tattoos on the bodies of women. Using semi-structured interviews, fifteen women were invited to discuss topics relating to femininity, their tattoos and their identities. With an intersectional focus, the analysis considers the individual lived experiences of the women, and centres on what factors form their experiences of tattooing as a form of resistance to personal histories of violence and abuse

Tattooed feminine bodies: regulation, conformity, and resistance

Normative constructions of femininity in the UK are constructed around white, middle-class, and thin ideals for women (Francombe-Webb & Silk, 2016), serving to ‘other’ different productions of femininity. Tattooed women have historically been associated with working-class bodies. Class-based constructions shape the way that the tattooed body is read, with particular implications for how tattoos are seen as ‘tasteful’ and ‘authentic’ (DeMello, 2000). The intersection of tattooed bodies with factors such as class and gender serve as points of tension to unpack in regard to how women negotiate their feminine positions – tacky versus tasteful, common versus other, visible versus invisible. Using an intersectionally informed qualitative approach, this thesis explores the production of discourses both within the media, and from interviews with tattooed women. In the media analysis, 35 articles were selected following a systematic search. Tattooed feminine bodies are represented in varying ways: as transformative objects, as cautionary tales, and also as a fashion trend or artistic object, accessible and appealing to middle-class women. The discourses (re)produced within the media articles are congruent with previous research, linking tattoos with issues of mental health and wellbeing (Roberts, 2012) and working-class constructions of tattooed women as unattractive (Swami & Furnham, 2007). I interviewed fourteen tattooed women in total, using purposive sampling to speak to women from a variety of backgrounds, ages, ethnicities and employment positions. Discourse analysis (Parker, 1992) was drawn upon to explore how the women constituted themselves in talk, and what the function of these constructions were. Within the interviews, women simultaneously narrate tattoos as resistant objects that enable them to transgress ideals of the feminine body, and regulate the tattooed body through constructions of ‘right’ and wrong’ ways to be tattooed. Women’s accounts also articulated how tattoos are embodied, and also drew on a sense of tattoos as inscribing meaning on the skin. In their accounts, their talk about the tattooed feminine body intersected with other accounts of the feminine, as ‘mother’, as relational being, as ‘professional’. The analysis demonstrates the importance of exploring the multiplicities in women’s positionings. I conclude this thesis by considering the methodological and theoretical implications of the research. As a reflexive researcher, I have acknowledged how I as a tattooed woman, academic, researcher, and feminist have co-constructed the discourses produced and presented within the research. I argue that it is important to draw on reflexive accounts in feminist research, showing how the self has an impact on research (Wilkinson, 1988), allowing for further exploration of these positions. I also argue that this research contributes to how we understand gaze, regulation, and resistance. Tattooed bodies may subvert normative gendered expectations, but they also conform to and reinforce them in others, and are still positioned under the male gaze. The othering of tattooed women is done by reinforcing one’s own position as a tattooed woman – regulating the body through the production of factors such as authenticity and taste. The thesis navigates the multiplicity of positionings for tattooed women, providing a point for future research to unpack

'Alternative' methods of coping: tattooing and humour as non-traditional methods of emotional expression

Much research has explored ‘traditional’ coping mechanisms individuals use to manage their own mental wellbeing. For example, websites which offer advice to young people (YP) on how to manage their own depression have discussed the benefits of physical exercise and healthy eating (e.g. Helpguide, 2014; KidsHealth, 2014; WebMD, 2014). Similarly, much research has explored the benefits of social support for positive mental health outcomes in YP (Rothon, Goodwin and Stansfield, 2012). However, there has been less of a focus on non-traditional, and often implicit strategies that YP employ in order to make sense of, discuss and manage emotions. This paper will review these non-traditional methods of expression that are particularly relevant to YP, with a specific focus on humour and tattooing. Although unrelated, they both differently provide YP with an ‘appropriate’ avenue to construct, make sense of and deal with difficult emotional experiences that occur in some YPs lives. Previous work on tattooing conceptualises it as being associated with negative mental health (Carroll et al, 2002; Brooks et al, 2003). However, with the popularity of tattooing in YP rising, tattoos are being used as a strategy to materially demonstrate what they have overcome, and as a symbol for strength (Way, 2013; Anderson, 2014). In comparison, humour is more of a discursive strategy enabling YP to reframe their distress and communicate it to others in a way that they feel comfortable (Plancherel and Monique, 1995). Similarly, professionals working with YP use humour as a method to communicate and regulate their own negative emotions (Gilgun and Sharma, 2013). This paper is a holistic review of both the literature and the media, exploring how YP negotiate understandings of emotion with particular relevance to humour and tattooing

Meaning‐making in women's tattooed bodies

Tattooed women's practices of resistance and conformity are constituted within social, cultural, and historical contexts that produce normative values around “good” and “bad” tattoos. Tattoos enable the performance of multiple femininities, constructing the female body in a way that is personal and meaningful to that individual and opening an agentic space in which they can do so. The vast majority of research that is available on tattoos concerns mostly men or, at least, does not fully understand the implications of specific gendered discourses that regulate the (feminine) body. In this paper, we argue that meaning-making for women's tattoos serves to function as legitimating, producing tattooed feminine bodies as more acceptable. We argue for a closer examination of the regulatory discourses that feed into the choices that women make in relation to their tattooed bodies

Embodiment and Excess: Constructions of tattooed mothers in the UK

The rise in the popularity of tattoos over the past decade is evident, with recent figures suggesting that 1 in 5 people in the UK have a tattoo (YouGov, 2015). Tattoos are often perceived as a ‘masculine practice’, heavily raced and classed (Sargent & Corse, 2013), and represented negatively on women’s bodies. Tattooed women have been constructed as unattractive, promiscuous and loud (Swami & Furnham, 2007) as well as being linked to displaying aggressive behaviour (Swami et al., 2015). Stereotypes that centre on tattooed bodies are not the only ideologies formed for how women should or should not ‘be’ – there is also the example of mothering. In UK newspapers, there are discourses produced that centre on ideal motherhood – the way to act, to behave, to dress amongst other things (Hadfield, Rudoe, & Sanderson‐Mann, 2007). Young mothers are often vilified for their ‘poor choice’ to become a mother so young. They are subject to constant surveillance and scrutiny for how they live, including decisions about the ‘right’ way to spend their money. For these women, choosing to spend money on a tattoo becomes the subject of debate because, as tattoos do not serve the benefit of the child, they would be considered another one of those bad choices (McDermott & Graham, 2005). In this paper, we explore the class based focus on tattooed mother’s bodies, and unpack the constructions of these bodies as discussed by tattooed mothers. We argue that the discursive policing of the tattooed mother is achieved, at least in part, through a construction of a sense of a ‘right’ and a ‘wrong’ way to be a tattooed mother

Constructions of regulation and social norms of tattooed female bodies

Over the last decade, there has been a substantial rise in the popularity of tattooing in the UK, and a subsequent increase in tattooed female bodies. As explored by Walter (2010), key for the women of today is that they have a choice, to conform to stereotypical constructions of femininity, or resist them. However, tension lies in the ways that these choices are already constrained by socially imposed boundaries. In exploring constructions of tattooed female bodies, a stratified sample of 14 tattooed women were interviewed, with the transcripts being analysed using a discursive–narrative approach. Reflexivity forms a key part of the analysis, as I research a tattooed woman, with some of the insider–outsider intersections informing the analysis. Here, the discourse of unwritten rules and social norms is explored, with a specific focus on how tattooed women construct ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ choices in respect to the tattoos they and others get, the expectation and the normalisation of the pain of getting and having a tattoo, and finally, the generational difference in respect to how tattoos are accepted and understood