Customizing the Body

by Sanders, Clinton

• ISBN13: 9781592138883
• ISBN10: 1592138888
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-03-28
• Publisher: Temple Univ Pr

Summary

Originally published in 1989, this ground-breaking ethnographic exploration of tattooing-and the art world surrounding it-covers the history, anthropology, and sociology of body modification practices; the occupational experience of the tattooist; the process and social consequences of becoming a tattooed person; and the prospects of "serious" tattooing becoming an accepted art form. Curiously, despite the greater prevalence of tattoos and body modification in today's society, there is still a stigma of deviance associated with people who get or ink tattoos.Retaining the core of the original book, this revised and expanded edition offers a new preface by the author and a new chapter focusing on the changes that have occurred in the tattoo world. A section on the new scholarly literature that has emerged, as well as the new modes of body modification that have come into vogue, are included along with a new gallery of photographs that show some splendid examples of contemporary tattoo art. A directory of artists' websites invites readers to discover the range of work being done around the world from "suits" (full body tattoos) to skulls.

Author Biography

Clinton R. Sanders is a Professor in the Sociology Department at the University of Connecticut D. Angus Vail is Associate Professor of Sociology at Willamette University in Salem, OR. He is also co-editor (with Erich Goode) of Extreme Deviance

Table of Contents

Preface to the Revised and Expanded Edition	p. vii
Preface to the First Edition	p. xxi
Introduction: Body Alteration, Artistic Production, and the Social World of Tattooing	p. 1
Becoming and Being a Tattooed Person	p. 36
The Tattooist: Tattooing as a Career and an Occupation	p. 62
The Tattoo Relationship: Risk and Social Control in the Studio	p. 117
Conclusion: Tattooing and the Social Definition of Art	p. 149
Epilogue 2008: Body Modification Then and Now	p. 164
Methodological Appendix	p. 189
Selected Tattoo Artist Websites	p. 203
Notes	p. 205
References	p. 221
Index	p. 239
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