Meaning making in women’s tattooed bodies

1. Meaning making in women’s tattooed bodies Dr Charlotte Dann @CharlotteJD Psych in the Pub, 10th Sept 2019 ‘Navigating tattooed women’s bodies’ coming 2021, Emerald Publishing

2. context • Tattoos have a rich cultural history • 1920s – tattooed women as circus performers • Current research suggesting that 1 in 5 adults in the UK has a tattoo (Williams et al, 2014)

3. Femininities • The notion of femininity is co/constructed on middle class women, and focuses on white privilege (Okolosie, 2014) • Working class women are constructed as ‘the other’ (DeMello, 2000) • ‘the surface of their bodies is the site upon which distinctions are drawn’ (Skeggs, 1997, pg. 84)

4. method • Qualitative exploration with tattooed women – discourse analysis • ‘discourse constructs “representations” of the world which have a reality almost as coercive as gravity, and like gravity, we know of objects through their effects’ (Parker, 1992, p. 8) • Reflexivity embedded within the research (Wilkinson, 1988) – how I as researcher / academic / tattooed woman have co—constructed the discourses

5. Meaning as adhering to social & cultural norms

6. Generation differences towards tattoos on women show varying levels of acceptability that relate to age and gender It is more acceptable for younger women to be tattooed today than it was, but the levels of acceptability are still fraught with issues

7. Normative expectations • Western weddings as typified by heteronormative norms, characterised by hyperfeminine and hypermasculine performances of gender (Kozieł & Sitek, 2013) • Regulative scrutiny in her account – moderation of tattoo choices in relation to this experience • Agency in how her body communicates with others – this is negotiated

8. The perceptions of tattoos by others forms part of the discourse that produces meaning as important in justifying, and therefore accepting, tattooed feminine bodies Conforming to and resisting against dominant constructions of femininities is still governed in respect to appropriate tattoo choices

9. Meaning as performing ‘good’ femininity

10. Defining femininity • Panther imagery as representative of a mysterious, feminine beauty • The tattoo as an appropriate feminine choice versus damaging of feminine attributes (‘a really nice back’) • Extensive tattoo coverage considered unfeminine (Madfis & Arford, 2013) • Hidden placement – body read by others as ‘good’ – tattoo cannot be seen and judged

11. Femininity embodied through fashion • Small and hidden favourable, dainty, feminine (Hawkes et al, 2004) • Tattoo choices are not ‘free’ – thought given to how the body may be read by others – body as regulated by what is considered acceptable • Visibility – both tattoos and fashion function to communicate the ‘self’ – both can express conformity and resistance to dominant ideas of womanhood

12. In producing the tattoo as meaningful, women serve to construct a sense of self that is ‘good’ – they are able to demonstrate ‘good femininity’ through their tattoo choices

13. Meaningful tattoos as authentic

14. Personal narratives are produced as important in relation to tattooed women, and whilst they may be able to choose the tattoo that they feel best represents their story, the stories that are being produced in dialogue are significant to the wearer Whilst the imagery might suggest things about the wearer, it is through the co/construction of the stories relating to the tattoos that personal meaning becomes evident The narratives serve to highlight how tattoos are representative of a certain historical and personal context – reflection back on these times shows the multiplicity of meanings, rather than meaning being one static notion

15. conclusions • Tattoos that have meaning are produced as the ‘right’ way to do a tattoo, as they are personal to the wearer • Producing personal narratives through the skin serves to function as a justifiable means of expression for women • The production of authenticity is not free from the social and cultural constraints placed on women and their bodies – there are still expectations relating to tattoo imagery, size, and location, that allow for a resistance against and/or conformity to contextually located expectations of women

16. Thank you for listening  @CharlotteJD