In analyses of tattoo contests, advertising, and modern primitive photographs, the book shows how images of tattooed bodies communicate and disrupt notions of gender, class, and exoticism through their discursive performances. Fenske suggests working within dominant discourse to represent and subvert oppressive gender and class evaluations.

Disrupting commonly held notions about who gets tattooed and why, The Tattoo Project describes, illustrates, and celebrates the social significances of commemorative tattoos. Written by scholars from various disciplines, as well as by community members and practitioners, this edited collection considers the meanings people make from their experiences of love, loss, trauma, resilience, and change, and why they choose to inscribe those meanings on their bodies. This methods-based text also examines the process of building a community-contributed digital archive of tattoo photos and stories, the result of which inspired the contributions to this book. Writing at the intersections between the public and the private, the authors consider the production and mobilization of knowledge across communities, disciplines, and space. Featuring beautiful tattoo photography, personal narratives from project participants, and original poetry by Priscila Uppal, The Tattoo Project is a novel read that bridges the gap between academic and popular audiences. This timely collection is a valuable resource for courses across the social sciences and humanities and for anyone interested in tattoos and their significance.

Legendary American tattoo artist Ed Hardy's groundbreaking tattoos, flash, drawings, and artworks are gathered together for the first time in one brash book. Ed Hardy's (b. 1945) unique vision spans decades, creating an indelible mark on popular culture. Accompanying a major exhibition, this profusely illustrated survey of his life in art traces his inspirations, rooted both in traditional American tattooing of the first half of the twentieth century and in the imagery of Japan's ukiyo-e era. Hardy, raised in Southern California, became intrigued with tattoo art at the age of ten, setting up shop in his parents' den. After attending the San Francisco Art Institute in the 1960s, he rejected a graduate fellowship from Yale to apprentice at studios up and down the West Coast. It was his intention to rescue tattooing from its subculture, "outsider" status and elevate it to at least the level of folk art. Hardy's success at breathing new life into the art form is chronicled in a plethora of tattoo designs, paintings, drawings, prints, and three-dimensional work spanning fifty years. While the world that inspires him may be lost, Hardy's distinct visual language is vibrantly alive within American visual vernacular, synonymous to some with the spirit of the West Coast itself.

With about 10–20% of the adult population in Europe being tattooed, there is a strong demand for publications discussing the various issues related to tattooed skin and health. Until now, only a few scientific studies on tattooing have been published. This book discusses different aspects of the various medical risks associated with tattoos, such as allergic reactions from red tattoos, papulo-nodular reactions from black tattoos as well as technical and psycho-social complications, in addition to bacterial and viral infections. Further sections are dedicated to the composition of tattoo inks, and a case is made for the urgent introduction of national and international regulations. Distinguished authors, all specialists in their particular fields, have contributed to this publication which provides a comprehensive view of the health implications associated with tattooing. The book covers a broad range of topics that will be of interest to clinicians and nursing staff, toxicologists and regulators as well as laser surgeons who often face the challenge of having to remove tattoos, professional tattooists and producers of tattoo ink.

Tattoo Histories is an edited volume which analyses and discusses the relevance of tattooing in the socio-cultural construction of bodies, boundaries, and identities, among both individuals and groups. Its interdisciplinary approach facilitates historical as well as contemporary perspectives. Rather than presenting a universal, essentialized history of tattooing, the volume’s objective is to focus on the entangled and transcultural histories, narratives, and practices related to tattoos. Contributions stem from various fields, including Archaeology, Art History, Classics, History, Linguistics, Media and Literary Studies, Social and Cultural Anthropology, and Sociology. They advance the current endeavour on the part of tattoo scholars to challenge Eurocentric and North American biases prevalent in much of tattoo research, by including various analyses based in locations such as Malaysia, Israel, East Africa, and India. The thematic focus is on the transformative capacity of tattoos and tattooing, with regard to the social construction of bodies and subjectivity; the (re-)creation of social relationships through the definition of (non-)tattooed others; the formation and consolidation of group identities, traditions, and authenticity; and the conceptualization of art and its relevance to tattoo artist–tattooee relations.

The rise of tattoos into the mainstream has been a defining aspect of 21st century western culture. Tattoos and Popular Culture showcases how tattoos have been catapulted from 'deviant' and 'alternative' subculture, into a popular culture, becoming a potent signifier of 'difference' for the millennial generation.

Tattoos are a highly visible social and cultural sight, from TV series that represent the lives of tattoo artists and their interactions with clients, to world-class sports stars and the social actors we meet on a daily basis who display visible tattoo designs. Whereas in the not-to-distant past tattoos were commonly culturally perceived to represent an outward sign of social non-conformity or even deviance, tattoos now increasingly transcend class, gender, and age boundaries and arguably are now more culturally acceptable than they have ever been. But why is this the case, and why do so many social actors elect to wear tattoos? Tattoo Culture explores these questions from historical, cultural and media perspectives, but also from the heart of the culture itself, from the dynamics of the tattoo studio, the work of the artist and the world of the tattoo convention, to the perspective of the social actors who bear designs to investigate the meanings which lie being the images. It critically examines the ways in which tattoos alter social actors’ sense of being and their relationship with time in the semiotic ways with which they communicate, to themselves or to the wider world, key elements of their bodily and personal identity and sense of being.