Tattoos as a Form of Expressed Identity and Perceptions about the Risk of Getting Sick by Tattooing

Abstract

The article presents the results of exploratory research, with qualitative and visual data, conducted in Brasov city, Romania. The objectives of the research were to identify the motivation behind getting tattooed, the meanings of tattoos, and the perceptions of health risks of getting tattooed. The theoretical premise of the research was that tattoos are getting out of the sphere of deviance entering the mainstream. As for the practical premise, that is represented by the lack of data regarding this phenomenon in Romania. With respect to the perceptions of health risks, our research launches the hypothesis of a profound lack of information related to the diseases that could be contracted through tattooing.