Le tatouage contemporain : vecteur d’identité 
ou artefact de consommation?
The aim of this dissertation is to uncover the motivations by which individuals have decided to permanently mark their bodies with particular motives capable of defining their identity in the same way as their individuality. These reasons, however, are subject to inflections of trends and modes conveyed in the media. In the last 20 years, tattoo has gone subtly from a brand of rebellion and originality to a standardized brand associated with youth and fashion. In this thesis, we have tried, by interviewing a dozen people from various backgrounds and having lived this mutation, to understand the reasons for having these tattoos as well as the changes of perception on the phenomenon. Thus, based on various theories including the Goffmanian theory of self-staging, David Le Breton's theory of identity-making and Bauman's vision of consumerism, we can partially explain the phenomenon.
Tattoo Individuality DIY identity Influence of the media Consumption