The social logic of tattooing on visible parts of the body among young girls in Bouaké (Côte d'Ivoire)

Abstract

This text aims to understand the meanings of the staging of girls' tattoos on the visible parts of the body in Bouaké. To do this, he questions their motivations, their perceptions of social norms on tattooing before the decision to tattoo themselves and their representations of the external gaze on their tattooed identity. The data are mainly derived from semi-structured interviews. The results first show that there is a variation in motivations which reveals an increase in a feeling of freedom for girls to have control over their bodies. Then they explain that the predispositions to tattoo oneself are declined in a differentiated interpretation of the social acceptance of tattoos. Finally, the results indicate that the intention to confront social norms and expose oneself to the risk of social exclusion is not systematically linked to the decision to tattoo oneself. But it is appreciated in a process that highlights the ability of girls to socially assume or not their new identity.