inking agency: women's mastectomy tattoos and emotional healing

112 Pages·2016·1.4 MB·English

by  Amanda Stutsman

ABSTRACT
INKING AGENCY: WOMEN’S MASTECTOMY TATTOOS
AND EMOTIONAL HEALING
Tattoos can have the power to help people emotionally heal from trauma.
They can be used as a way to help an individual cope with physical and emotional
stress, such as the loss of a loved one or a physical injury resulting in scars or the
loss of a body part. This study was conducted to discover the reasons women
reported for getting a mastectomy tattoo and the ways those with mastectomy
tattoos use their tattoos to claim bodily agency. Six women who have had
mastectomy tattoos were interviewed. Stuart Hall’s encoding and decoding theory
along with theories of bodily agency was applied to their responses.
The symbolism behind the images participants chose for tattoos included
angel wings for women who died with cancer, 3D nipples to look like a natural
nipples, feathers to encode God sheltering with His wings, lilies of the valley in
bloom to represent Christ and a new beginning, and a phoenix to represent rebirth.
The reasons that women chose to get mastectomy tattoos varied. The two reasons
that all six women mentioned were to cover up their scars and to spread awareness
that this option exists. The tattoo was also transformative in that it helped the
women feel confident, gave them the desire to show off their breasts, and helped
them heal emotionally.
Amanda Stutsman
May 2016

INKING AGENCY: WOMEN’S MASTECTOMY TATTOOS
AND EMOTIONAL HEALING

by
Amanda Stutsman

A thesis
submitted in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts in Communication
in the College of Arts and Humanities
California State University, Fresno
May 2016
APPROVED
For the Department of Communication:

We, the undersigned, certify that the thesis of the following student
meets the required standards of scholarship, format, and style of the
university and the student's graduate degree program for the
awarding of the master's degree.

Amanda Stutsman
Thesis Author

Kevin Ayotte (Chair) Communication

Marnel Niles Goins Communication

Hillary Jones Communication

For the University Graduate Committee:

Dean, Division of Graduate Studies
AUTHORIZATION FOR REPRODUCTION
OF MASTER’S THESIS

X I grant permission for the reproduction of this thesis in part or in
its entirety without further authorization from me, on the
condition that the person or agency requesting reproduction
absorbs the cost and provides proper acknowledgment of
authorship.

Permission to reproduce this thesis in part or in its entirety must
be obtained from me.

Signature of thesis author:
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank my husband and parents for their continued
encouragement. I would also like to thank Garnet Tattoo for their support and
assistance, along with a special thank you to the women who gave their time to
participate in this study. This thesis would not have been accomplished without all
of your help.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................. vi
LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................ vii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................ 1
History of Women with Tattoos ........................................................................ 2
Significance of Researching Mastectomy Tattoos ............................................ 7
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................... 11
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY .......................................................................... 36
Participants ...................................................................................................... 38
Interview Procedures ....................................................................................... 41
Coding and Analysis ....................................................................................... 44
CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION ................................................................................. 49
Encoding/Decoding ......................................................................................... 52
Tattoo Symbolism ........................................................................................... 53
Emotional Healing .......................................................................................... 66
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION ............................................................................... 78
Summary ......................................................................................................... 78
Implications ..................................................................................................... 82
Limitations and Future Research .................................................................... 84
REFERENCES ....................................................................................................... 89
APPENDICES ........................................................................................................ 97
APPENDIX A: CONSENT FORM ....................................................................... 98
APPENDIX B: QUESTIONNAIRE .................................................................... 101
LIST OF TABLES
Page
Table 1 Primary Codes .......................................................................................... 46
Table 2 Secondary Codes ...................................................................................... 48
LIST OF FIGURES
Page
Figure 1 Lady Viola, photograph by Historical Findings ........................................ 4
Figure 2 Betty Broadbent, 1939, photograph by The Tattooed Lady ...................... 5
Figure 3 The SCAR Project, 2011, photograph by David Jay Photography ......... 20
Figure 4 Humor and Fear, 1999, photograph by Joel-Peter Witkin ...................... 21
Figure 5 Inga Duncan Thornell, 2012, photograph by Tina Bafaro ...................... 33
Figure 6 Angie, 2015a, reprinted with permission from Shane Wallin ................. 55
Figure 7 Mary, 2015b, reprinted with permission from Shane Wallin .................. 56
Figure 8 Tracy, 2015c, reprinted with permission from Shane Wallin ................. 58
Figure 9 Kim, 2015d, reprinted with permission from Shane Wallin ................... 59
Figure 10 Laura, 2015e, reprinted with permission from Shane Wallin ............... 60
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
In the never-ending project of women’s self-transformation, tattoos are
both an end and a beginning, a problem and a solution. Written on the
skin—the very membrane that separates the self from the world—they’re
diary entries and public announcements, conversation pieces and
counterculture totems, valentines to lovers, memorials to the dead,
reminders to the self. They’re scars and symptoms, mistakes and
corrections.

– Mifflin, Bodies of Subversion

In 1993, Inga Duncan Thornell had a double mastectomy procedure after
being diagnosed with breast cancer (Thornell, 2012). A mastectomy is the surgical
removal of the breast (“Mastectomy,” n.d.), a double mastectomy involving both
breasts, and a lumpectomy is the surgical removal of lump from the breast
(“Lumpectomy,” n.d.). Thornell had already lost her stepmother to breast cancer
and her own mother had also been diagnosed with it. Thornell (2012) writes a blog
about her experience, on which she states that instead of breast reconstruction
through plastic surgery she opted to cover her entire chest with a tattoo that took
over two years to complete. Although more than 20 years have passed since
Thornell chose to get a mastectomy tattoo, her tattoo is just now starting to get
recognized on social media.
Thornell (2012) stated on her blog that she still loves her tattoo and says
that it is a part of her. In part because of Thornell, the popularity of mastectomy
tattoos is rising. Her tattoo has been publicized and helped to change a policy on
nudity of a major social media network, which is discussed in chapter two.
Although mastectomy tattoos are starting to become more common, very few
women know about the option unless there is a need for them to learn about the
tattoos. As the results of this study suggest, the more publicity this option