Abstract

FERREIRA, Vitor Sérgio. Politics of the body, politics of life: tattoos and body piercing as a corporal expression of an ethics of dissidence. Etnográfica [online]. 2007, vol.11, n.2, pp.291-326. ISSN 0873-6561.

The aesthetic of divergence that characterises extensively tattooed and body pierced bodies, represents a way of stylistic demarcation through which some young people build and reveal not only their personal identity, but also the way they perceive and relate to the world. It implies an aesthetic performance that embodies a homologous ethical attitude, consubstantiated in a sense of disaffiliation towards the established social and cultural order. It is an ethic of dissidence that reclaims a remoralisation of day-to-day life, so as to conquer a social space of existence in the world, where it is possible to live a commitment with a body, an identity, and a life style that aims to be "alternative" to the current "supermarket of styles" on offer, under conditions of authenticity, respect and personal freedom.

Keywords : body; body marks; youth; life politics; cultural citizenship.

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