Mastectomy tattoos: An emerging alternative for reclaiming self

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Gender Studies
• Sociology of Health

Background:

• Breast cancer literature and gender studies indicate women are challenging the abjection of post-mastectomy bodies.
• Tattooing is an emerging body modification practice offering an alternative for women experiencing disembodiment after mastectomy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore how acquiring meaningful tattoo art over a mastectomized site can challenge hegemonic, gendered discourses of the female breast and patriarchal beauty ideals.
• To understand tattoos as emancipatory practices for self-expression, healing, and transformation post-mastectomy.

Main Methods:

• This study considers embodied health movements, a type of social movement.
• Analysis of contemporary tattooing as a body project in relation to post-mastectomy experiences.

Main Results:

• Meaningful tattoo art acquired over mastectomized sites can challenge dominant discourses surrounding the female breast and patriarchal beauty standards.
• Tattooing is evolving as a practice for self-expression, healing, and transformation, challenging societal norms.

Conclusions:

• Nurses should understand the prevalence and role of tattoos in women's lives, particularly post-mastectomy.
• Tattooing offers a means for women to embody healing and transformation, challenging the abjection of the post-mastectomy body.