Graduation Date
Spring 2019
Document Type
Thesis
Program
Master of Arts degree with a major in Sociology
Committee Chair Name
Michihiro Sugata
Committee Chair Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Second Committee Member Name
Anthony Silvaggio
Second Committee Member Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Keywords
Tattoos, Heavily tattooed, women, Stigma, Body art, Body modification, Visual, Heavily tattooed women
Subject Categories
Sociology
Abstract
Younger generations, and specifically women, are receiving tattoos in much larger numbers than ever before in the United States (Thompson 2015). However, this does not mean the stigma of tattoos has necessarily shifted. People get tattoos for a variety of reasons, and those reasons may vary by gender. Women are currently becoming heavily tattooed in much larger numbers compared to men (Thompson 2015). There is a lack of literature asking women why they choose tattooing as a form of body modification, and how it may help to define or express themselves. There continues to be a lack of research done on how women who choose to become heavily tattooed perceive themselves. To understand women’s self-perceptions of themselves and their tattoos, I will conduct 15 to 20 qualitative interviews with heavily tattooed women, or self-identified women with five or more tattoos. These women will be located in Humboldt County, California and Mesa County, Colorado (during summer 2018). In Humboldt County, I will recruit respondents by posting flyers around HSU campus, attending tattoo conventions to make connections and pass out flyers, and through snowball sampling. In Colorado, I will recruit at local tattoo parlors and through my personal social networks. During the interviews, I will also take a photo of the two tattoos or pieces the women find most meaningful, and ask the respondents to share the story behind those two pieces, specifically.
Citation Style
ASA
Recommended Citation
Smith, Vanessa E., "Reclamation through alteration of the body: Heavily tattooed women’s perceptions of self" (2019). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 292.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/292