Attitudes and Social Acceptance towards Tattooing: A Case Study of Women with Tattoos in Hua Hin District, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province

Abstract

The research aimed to study the construction of meanings and identities of women through their tattoo images, to analyse social factors in Thai society which influenced on attitude change towards tattooing and to investigate the negative views on tattooed women and conflict resolution to solve the problems. Qualitative research was employed to the study using collected documents and in-depth interview with 10 women with tattoos and 5 tattoo artists residing in Hua Hin District, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province for over 10 years.

The results of the study revealed that women began getting tattooed to express their personality and passions. They attempted to represent the meanings of tattoo designs with their identities. But Tattooing was inconsistent with social values. Women with tattoos would be considered low class although there were some positive changes of social factors. Even being considered as aesthetics, arts and fashion, a general acceptance of tattoos in Thai society was still stagnated. Therefore, Women who decided to get tattooed would be considered challenging or resisting to prevailing practices and self-liberated from social norms and they would become socially marginalized. Contrarily, tattoos could be used to inform the capability to control one’s own body and reclaim the creation of self rather than being socially constructed. Women with tattoos were faced with value conflicts at the ultimate level and they often managed the conflicts by using competing strategy. They struggled for authenticity in several ways. Even though they were not able to change the society, they could somehow make the society realize the individuality and self-expression and challenged the social power for freedom and rights to self-identification.