Pascoe, CJKaplow, Sasha2024-08-302024-08-302024https://hdl.handle.net/1794/2995049 pagesThis research explains how having tattoos relates to every part of intersecting identities- from gender to age to religion. By seeing how ten interviewed participants’ personal identities influenced their tattoo decisions, this thesis shows how meaning is made from and for ink. A section on how Jewish people can reclaim the meaning of a tattoo after battling the generational trauma of their ancestors being branded by ink in The Holocaust is an important part of this research. Many Jewish people are reclaiming and empowering the meaning of their body art to counter this trauma and other aspects of religious rules, while battling their family's frightful past. Through my research, I explored how intersectionality plays a role in a person’s tattoo choices. The main categories on which I focused for the interviews were gender, class, race, and religion- especially Judaism. Findings suggest that a person’s identity greatly impacts their tattoo selection, placement, and style. The meaning people make from ink or the design they curate due to their identity is strongly correlated. The interviews also make clear that tattoos help people heal from trauma and take ownership over their body. 3 For individuals who struggled finding themself or feeling connected to their physical body due to how they look, the body parts they were born with, or the color of their skin, tattoos are a method to connect the internal with the external and express their true identity.en-USCC BY-NC-ND 4.0TattoosGenderReligionClassRaceThesis/Dissertation