1.

The effectiveness of nonverbal communication as a mode of expression

• Psychological studies often associate tattoos with deviant behavior, risk-taking, and
antisocial tendencies.
• The qualitive research in this field explores how tattoos interconnect with social
variables including gender, social class, sexuality, and self-identity.
• Atkinson deeply immersed in tattoo culture and positions tattoos within intricate micro-
and macro-social frameworks, intentionally avoiding the deviance narrative.
• Ethnographic research reveals the multiplicity of meanings that tattoos hold and their
connection to self-construction and embodied knowledge.

2. Symbolism in tattoos and body modifications

• Tattoos are portrayed as extensions of the self, serving as a visual language for
communication via the body.
• The same tattoo may be interpreted differently depending on the social environment,
illustrating the dynamic interplay between personal expression and societal perception.
• Susan Philips exemplifies how tattoos despite the fact that are creative expressions at
the intersection of art and embodiment, can lead to stigmatization in certain social
contexts (e.g. workplace). The research also acknowledges that tattoo culture is
evolving and recognizing the need to shift away from enduring stereotypes.
• The emergence of tattoo studios has played a pivotal role in elevating tattoos to the
status of body art. This transition is marked by the professionalization of tattooing.
Studios resemble galleries and artists are recognized as practitioners of a legitimate
aesthetic practice.
• The term “body art” has become ubiquitous in both mass-media and academic
discourses, signaling a shift in how tattoos are perceived.
• Matt Lodder urges other scholars to apply methodologies and theories that are used in
the analysis of traditional art forms like painting or sculpture, in order to reconsider
tattoos from an art-historical viewpoint.
• This approach views tattoos and tattooed bodies not merely as extensions of the self in
social interactions but as elements similar to paint and canvas, taking the colloquial
phrase “viewing skin as canvas” quite seriously and literally.