Social Problems of Iran

Tattooing as a Practice of Re-Meaning the Body

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Reyhaneh Najjaran 1
Toktam Namayandeh Joorabchi 2

1 Bachelor in Sociology, Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Literature and Humanities , Ferdowsi University, Mashhad, Iran

2 Post-Doctoral, Faculty of Education, The National University of Malaysia (UKM), Malaysia

10.22034/jspi.2026.11113
Abstract
Within the framework of the sociology of the body, tattoos represent a distinctive manifestation of the interaction between the individual and society. The main objective of this study is to understand the experiences, attitudes, and motivations of women and men in relation to tattooing. This research adopts a qualitative methodology and is grounded in the grounded theory approach. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 27 women and 25 men in Mashhad who had tattoos on their bodies. The findings indicate that tattooing emerges within a complex, multidimensional social process. The causal conditions include the gendered representation of pain and hope on the body, the influence of close reference groups, gendered identification with media tattoo models, aesthetic perceptions of the body, and the desire to escape everyday monotony. Gendered binaries in initial encounters with tattoos, intergenerational and network-based transmission of tattooing, and the redefinition of the social status of tattoos function as contextual conditions influencing tattoo practices. In addition, gendered patterns in occupational policies, gendered choices regarding tattoo visibility, and gender differences in tattoo placement emerged as intervening conditions in this process. Ultimately, tattooing led to outcomes such as the expansion of social ties, pleasure and satisfaction with the body, reconstruction of body image, increased self-confidence, the continuity of tattooing practices, and encounters with social and institutional constraints. Overall, the core category of the study was “re-meaning the body,” suggesting that for participants, tattooing is not merely an aesthetic modification but a social practice through which the body, identity, and lived experience are redefined within the context of contemporary Iranian society.

Keywords

Tattooing
Gender Differences
Re-meaning the Body
Identity Formation
Media Influence
Social Interaction
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  • Receive Date 26 February 2026
  • Revise Date 06 May 2026
  • Accept Date 13 May 2026
  • First Publish Date 09 July 2026