![]() ![]() in comments such as ‘my new tattoo’ – ‘Ohhhhh I love it !!:)’. In addition, photographs of tattoos are often posted on social media (see below on data collection), along with hashtags and account handles such as #endosisters or The practice of posting and the hashtags and account handles foster a sense of community, as evidenced by solidarity and appreciation as the main reactions to the act of posting, e. g. Two endometriosis tattoos (ED17, ED18) incorporate the very word ‘visible’ to refer to this interpersonal function. Indeed, the very act of wearing an illness-related tattoo – as long as it is not covered by clothing – helps to make breast cancer and endometriosis visible and thereby enables the wearer to connect with others living with the respective disease. It has been noted that tattoos act as ‘vehicles for self-expression, commemoration, community building, and social commentary’ ( Kang and Jones 2007: 47) and thus also have an interpersonal function. how they serve to convey the experiences of women with breast cancer or endometriosis, and what identities and views of the diseases the women have adopted as a result. Our aim is therefore to shed light on the experiential (also known as ideational) function of tattoos, i. e. In this paper, we will show how illness-related tattoos worn by women with breast cancer or endometriosis serve to construct identities for both the disease, which is seen as an enemy or a burden, and for the woman living with the disease, who positions herself as a fighter or as a sufferer. ![]() We close by discussing in how far the tattoos do justice to the complexity of living with an illness and how our research shows the need to include visual stimuli in medical consultations. Subversive identities centre on despair or rationality, and as such constitute an alternative to social imperatives of either staying strong and fighting the illness or accepting one’s fate. The first, metaphoric, identity shows hybrid gendering and constructs the illness as an adversary, while the identity as sufferer often has religious overtones, particularly for breast cancer tattoos. A social semiotic analysis shows that lexemes, images, type fonts and intertextuality work together to construct dominant identities for the women wearing the tattoos: as a fighter or warrior, or as a sufferer. Drawing on previous literature on multimodal communication, tattoos and illness, we analyse a sample of 59 different tattoos for their ideational function in constructing identities. We pay respect to Elders past, present and emerging.In this article, we explore the functions that tattoos worn by women with breast cancer or endometriosis have in constructing identities for the wearer and conceptualise the respective illness. If you love it please subscribe and leave us a rating or comment if that tickles your fancy.The Deep acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work and live, and recognise their continuing connection to land, water and community. Visit and use code THEDEEP15 to get 15% off your order until the 30th of April.For endometriosis support visit:Helder - ProducerCaleb Jacobs - MusicAJ Davis - Comms ManagerPlease DM us your thoughts and burning questions to or head to /thedeep.The Deep is a place for you. She's had her 16th surgery and lives with chronic pain.Follow Erin on Instagram episode is proudly brought to you by Francesca. But what you don't know is that her body is riddled with the disease. You might know her as reality star Erin from Love Island and I'm a Celebrity Get me Out of Here. Told I could never have children.Today we speak to another endo warrior. Endometriosis affects more than 11% of Australian women. ![]()
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