From outsider to established – explaining the current popularity and acceptability of tattooing
Abstract
Tattooing is a practice long associated with social outsiders – sailors, criminals, bikers and women of disrepute. In recent years, however, the practice has become increasingly popular, and acceptable, in mainstream culture as these marks of distinction appear on an ever greater number of bodies. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, academic literature, and content analysis of popular media, I propose that four inter-related developments have contributed to the redefinition of tattooing: the increasing importance of the body as a site for constructing identity; processes of cultural diversity and globalization; the increased visibility of the practice in popular culture; and attempts to legitimise the practice as an acceptable art form both within academia and popular culture. By drawing together these inter-related developments this paper demonstrates how Elias’ theories of establishedoutsider relations provides an understanding of the processes that lead to changing statuses for certain cultural practices.Citation
Rees, M. (2016) 'From Outsider to Established - Explaining the Current Popularity and Acceptability of Tattooing', Historical Social Research, 41(3), pp. 157-174. doi: doi.org/10.12759/hsr.41.2016.3.157-174Journal
Historical Social ResearchAdditional Links
http://www.jstor.org/stable/43997044https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/handle/document/48888?locale-attribute=en
Type
Journal articleLanguage
enISSN
0172-6404ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.12759/hsr.41.2016.3.157-174
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