Body Modification As Biographical Work: Different Types of Identity Construction through Tattooing

The presentation refers to the findings of a research project aimed at detecting the meanings assigned to tattooing by those who practice such body modifications. From the analysis of eight narrative interviews with tattooed men and women, a latent function of tattooing emerged: in societies of late modernity, in which individuals are charged with the task of building a coherent identity of themselves within varied and changing social circumstances, tattoos function as "identity pegs" (Goffman), as sources for securing consistency and coherence of the self. Interpretative reconstruction of our material (biographical narratives) has highlighted two different versions (types) that this process can take, which correspond to two different discourses of identity:

In the first version, tattooing as one type of identity work functions as an enhancer of a process of introspection. In order to take the risk of making an indelible and permanent inscription on his/her body, the individual searches (through an inner dialog) for elements of a (supposed) inner authentic self. Once these elements have been discovered, their public manifestation seeks to express and consolidate a consistent identity, within the changing context of late modern societies. In this version, the narrators seem to adopt elements of an essentialist discourse of identity.

In the second version, identity construction does not take place through the search for "an authentic internal essence" but through inscriptions that refer to important biographical stations or experiences: In this case, the body functions as a canvas, as an inscribed personal calendar, which includes significant life events in a sequential order. The inscriptions provide "reference points" for constructing a coherent biographical identity. Thus, identity of self acquires consistency without appearing static but rather as an open project of personal development. In this version, identity appears as a fluid narrative construction.