RECLAIMING STIGMATISED BODIES: NEGOTIATING MULTIPLE FEMININITIES AMONG YOUNG WOMEN WITH TATTOOS IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

Tattoos are becoming increasingly common among young women in Singapore. This phenomenon occurs in a context where tattoos have been historically stigmatised but are gradually becoming socially accepted as a mode of art and self-expression. As tattoos are still often perceived as a symbol of masculinity, young women with tattoos challenge gender norms. I employ Schippers’ (2007) concepts of hegemonic femininity and pariah femininity to analyse how young women with tattoos in Singapore negotiate with multiple femininities. Young women choose to get tattoos because tattoos enable them to claim ownership over their bodies, exercise body autonomy, and embody identities. However, tattoos on women’s bodies are stigmatised for failing to conform to gender norms. Women with tattoos embody stigmatised pariah femininity. In response to the stigma, young women engage in stigma management strategies. They may get feminine tattoo designs, construct socially ‘correct’ meanings around their tattoos, have small tattoos or frame their tattoos as art so as to embody less stigmatised pariah femininities. Additionally, they may make their tattoos invisible (by placing their tattoos on discrete areas on their bodies or hiding their tattoos with clothes) to, at least temporarily, appear to conform to gender ideals and thus perform hegemonic femininity. Women negotiate with multiple femininities and perform gender strategically through their tattoos. This enables them to access the advantages that tattoos offer while minimising the stigma that they experience.