Based on interviews and participant observation at tattoo studios and tattoo conventions, this book draws on Norbert Elias' figurational sociology to investigate the reasons for which so many people choose tattooing as a form of body modification in the construction of their identity.

Michael Rees is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Wolverhampton, UK.

Introduction 1. The History of Western Tattooing 2. A Review of the Current Literature and the Case for Figurational Sociology 3. Researching Tattoos 4. A Figurational Understanding of Tattooing 5. From Outsider to Established: Explaining the Current Popularity and Acceptability of Tattooing 6. Representing the Self: Deviance and Normality 7. Quests for Authenticity