Body Modification

Since the early twentieth century, anthropology has considered body modifications as the expression of cultural systems specific to Indigenous communities. Whether manifest as beautification techniques, ritualized stages of the life cycle, or markers of belonging to a group, skin and body modifications are universal and essential to the socialization of their subjects. While body modifications are sometimes analyzed as the end result of a technical process, they are generally interpreted through a more or less semiotic (as a form of communication) or political (as a governing of the body) lens. Contemporary approaches to body modifications, which focus primarily on tattoos, ultimately re‐create this dichotomy. They consider body modifications as either subjective narration (an expression of the self) or resistance to the power structures that govern Western societies. Nevertheless, some alternative approaches also examine the professional aspect of tattooing as a service industry