The body and tattoo as a vehicle of producing meaning

Cultural consumption goods and their appearance through body produce a symbolic text that is open to be read. From this point, there is a set of meanings that every cultural text creates and signifies to within the structure of complex social relationships. Individual in the contemporary social structure processing by way of consumption patterns appeals to that consumption patterns than ever before in order to reveal his/her existence to both him/herself and the others, to make a sense of belonging, to be aesthetical, to comply or resist, to build an identity, to emphasis his/her individuality and individual self. Tattoo, as a bodily practice and cultural consumption good, has a special position that serves for all these purposes. Tattoo, as a body modification and hence a kind of symbolic representation, can be considered as the marks on the skin of the narrative of the modern individual in terms of individualization, belonging, and having an identity. The aim of this study is to argue tattoo, as a means through which individuals may have an opportunity to represent, to position themselves and to constitute their own resistance focus, with regard to broader and complex sociocultural structure. Qualitative research method adopted and in-depth interview technique was used for obtaining data from the field. In this context, individual tattoo narratives that had been acquired by having in-depth interview with tattooed people were transcribed and analyzed within the frame of identity, belonging, gender, religion, social status, and resistance.