Cathartic Ink: A Qualitative Examination of Tattoo Motivations for Survivors of Sexual Trauma

Maxwell, December; Thomas, Johanna; Thomas, Shaun A.

doi:10.1080/01639625.2019.1565524

Cited by 14 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…Having the chance to re-write one's story or inscribe parts of that story on the body is powerful and reflects the strength these women had to reclaim self, taking back power and control through their own efforts. These findings support and strengthen current understanding about motivations for tattooing that include beautification, 35 identity formation, [36][37][38] regaining control following a personal trauma, 31,[38][39][40] and the healing conveyed by some who use their tattoos to tell a story. 39,41,42 Key discoveries from this study contribute to the small yet growing body of knowledge about the role of tattoos in health and healing.…”

Section: Reclaiming Self: Taking Back Power and Controlsupporting

confidence: 78%

Unveiling beauty: Insight into being tattooed postmastectomy

Jong

2022

Nursing Forum

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Background: It could be argued that mastectomy tattoos are being considered by some women in contemporary society as an alternative to breast reconstruction.Aim: To gain insight into the experience of "being" tattooed where breast(s) once occupied space, six women with mastectomy tattoos were interviewed.Methodology: The teachings of Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics were engaged to better understand what it means "to be" tattooed postmastectomy.Results and Discussion: Discoveries include feeling sad and damaged postmastectomy, embodying the tattoo as a novel representation of self for women living without breast(s), and reclaiming power, control, and confidence in a way that is symbolically meaningful. Conclusion:Health care providers working with women diagnosed with breast cancer are invited to learn from women with mastectomy tattoos and to consider expanding discourse about care to include options beyond breast reconstruction.

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Section: Reclaiming Self: Taking Back Power and Controlsupporting

confidence: 78%

Unveiling beauty: Insight into being tattooed postmastectomy

Jong

2022

Nursing Forum

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“…The human body has also been examined as an embodiment of traumas, and as an instrument for processing traumatic experiences (Formenti & West & Horsdal 2014). For example, jewelry and tattoos attached to the human body, which have historically had negative cultural connotations (Ruotsalainen 2015), have been examined as instruments for processing trauma and healing, after difficult and traumatic experiences have strongly affected the identity narrative of an individual (Alter-Muri 2019; Maxwell & Thomas & Thomas 2020).…”

Section: Theoretical and Methodological Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Untitled

2021

FEJF

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Bringing into focus the ways of how to approach trauma instead of defining the object of research is becoming increasingly important. This also indicates that the range of approaches to trauma that informs cultural inquiry is widening, and is moving away from one singular paradigm posited as universal. Trauma scholars have demonstrated, on the one hand, the importance of particular experiences, specific cases, individual features of experiencing, remembering, and narrating trauma. On the other hand, they have pointed out the impact of cultural "scripts" shaped by broader cultural understandings and social and cultural regulations and preferences that shape the possibilities of the representation of traumatic experience. This special issue seeks to recognize and negotiate the individual and collective dimensions of trauma as well as their interwovenness, with a focus on the (post)-Soviet and Eastern European experience. It does so by addressing the generalizing theoretical models as well as the practical, material, and experimental aspects of trauma. Thus, it seeks to disentangle and clarify the links between the collective and the individual, the theoretical and the practical, and finally, the universal and the specific, the global and the local.

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“…People acquire tattoos for a variety of reasons. They serve to memorialize an important life‐changing event 9,39 ; to commemorate a loved one; for group membership 48 and for taking control of one's life and body following a traumatic experience 49‐51 . Academics and professionals are also embracing their tattoos as a form of artistic self‐expression 31,52,53 or for purely esthetic purposes 9,36 .…”

Section: Resisting Cultural Norms With Tattoosmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Findings suggest that participants positively changed in how they viewed themselves after obtaining a tattoo. A growing body of knowledge suggests positive effects of tattooing on women's identity development and sense of empowerment 10,29,51 …”

Section: Resisting Cultural Norms With Tattoosmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The therapeutic quality of tattoos is reported across a range of populations. In a recent study, Maxwell et al 51 shared findings from women who self‐identified as survivors of sexual violence and sought tattoos as a form of healing. The tattoos were seen as “cathartic ink” and a means of regaining control of their bodies while resisting patriarchal norms.…”

Section: Resisting Cultural Norms With Tattoosmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mastectomy tattoos: An emerging alternative for reclaiming self

Jong

Bruce

2020

Nurs Forum

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Recent discourses within breast cancer and gendered studies literature suggest some women are challenging postmastectomy bodies as abject bodies. Tattooing is an emerging body project in contemporary society that can offer women who live disembodied from their postmastectomized body an alternative. We consider embodied health movements, a type of social movement, to explore how acquiring meaningful tattoo art over a mastectomized site can been seen as challenging hegemonic, gendered discourses of the female breast and patriarchal ideals of beauty, post mastectomy. As part of emancipatory practices, tattooed bodies have historically been used to challenge dominant discourses related to identity and is currently evolving into practices of self‐expression, healing, and transformation. As an emerging phenomenon among women, it is important for nurses to understand the prevalence and role of tattoos more broadly, and the possible means for women to embody healing and transformation post mastectomy.

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Cathartic Ink: A Qualitative Examination of Tattoo Motivations for Survivors of Sexual Trauma

Cited by 14 publications

References 50 publications

Unveiling beauty: Insight into being tattooed postmastectomy

Unveiling beauty: Insight into being tattooed postmastectomy

Untitled

Mastectomy tattoos: An emerging alternative for reclaiming self

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