Bodies of Inscription: A Cultural History of the Modern Tattoo Community

by Margo Demello

Book Overview

Since the 1980s, tattooing has emerged anew in the United States as a widely appealing cultural, artistic, and social form. In Bodies of Inscription Margo DeMello explains how elite tattooists, magazine editors, and leaders of tattoo organizations have downplayed the working-class roots of tattooing in order to make it more palatable for middle-class consumption. She shows how a completely new set of meanings derived primarily from non-Western...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0822324679
• ISBN13: 9780822324676
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Duke University Press
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.98 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.4" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

Scholarly work on Tattooing

Bodies of Inscription is a scholarly in depth look at the historical, social and political aspects of tattooing as a whole. This is not a picture book, this is a book on tattoo history and sociology. She presents her points in a clear and concise manner. The section on the history of tattooing is very informative. I began reading this book as a source for a research paper, then eventually read it cover to cover.

I feel smarter for reading this.

This book is an anthropological study of the modern sub-culture of tattoo fans. It briefly touches on the history of tattoos in western culture, with a focus on tattoos merging into popular/middle class culture from the 1980's onward. It is very informative, and a great read - it is not a good book for those merely seeking tattoo pictures. The one downside to this book is it is copywrite 2000, which means it is now outdated by 9 years. The community has grown and changed so much with the use of the internet. Current trends like the newest celebrity craze for tattoos, tattoo relatity TV programs, and the re-popularization of old-school tattoos are not covered.

OK

This book was ok! i was hoping for something more traditional in the designs the author gave her readers! i could have done i without the gang tattoes though!