Navigating Tattooed Women’s Bodies: Intersections of Class and Gender (Emerald Studies in Popular Culture and Gender)

Drawing our attention to how traditional constructions of femininity are conformed to and resisted against, Dann positions media discourses of trends, regret, and transformation alongside tattooed women’s own thoughts of their tattoos. The chapters uncover how tattoos relate to the embodiment, or resistance, of femininity where the body plays a complex role – in care, in the community, and in families. Delving into the societal norms about what women should and shouldn’t do with their bodies, and looking specifically at motherhood, employment, and consumption, Dann demonstrates how meaning-making is critical to how women’s tattooed bodies are understood, and how personal narratives take centre stage in the justification for tattoos. Providing a fuller understanding of the nuances particular to tattooed women, this book equips readers to reconstruct how we theorize femininity and the body.