Representation of the Meaning and experience of Tattoo by Young Woman

Tattoos are rooted in ancient social rite, which in the past were treated as rite of passage, but nowadays, most signify aesthetic concepts and acts of protest. These bodily writings testify to the representation of various functions of the body and an example of individual agency in the right to control and ownership of the body. The present research seeks to explore women’s reasons and interpretation of tattoo and its meaningful redefinition. In this research, the qualitative method and Grounded theory were used for implementation and data analysis. The participants of this research were 12 women from 19 to 36 years old in Yazd who were selected by purposeful sampling method. The collected data from semi-structured interviews were analyzed during open, axial, and selective coding process, which obtained 8 main categories. These categories include connote, self-expression, normative body, influence of neighbors (contact impact or juxtaposition effect), observational parts, symbolic signifiers, pleasure seeking and the prevention custom and tradition, which ultimately, the final category of iconoclastic Self-determination derived from integration of the main categories.