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Exploring Tattooed Presentation on YouTube: A Case Study of Kat Von D

2021; Routledge; Volume: 26; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/1362704x.2021.1882769

1751-7419

Sarah Frankel, Leslie Cuevas, Heejin Lim, Stefanie Benjamin,

Impact of Technology on Adolescents

Kat von D (KvD), a social media influencer, uses her tattooed body, artwork, make-up brand, and narrative via YouTube to convey her lived experiences as a tattooed cis-gendered woman. KvD's YouTube platform provides valuable data to explore the phenomenon of using social media for self-presentation and online social networking among the group of heavily tattooed women. Informed by Écriture feminine and presentation of the self as theoretical lenses, we conducted a qualitative study analyzing KvD's narratives and viewers' comments on YouTube. The first themes pertain to KvD's self-presentation as a tattooed woman on social media: (1) empowering autonomy of one's body, (2) empowering voices of the marginalized group, and (3) empowering women entrepreneurship. Then, two themes emerged focusing on the impact of KvD's social media presence on tattooed members' group identity and consumption culture: (1) sense of belonging through shared values and (2) sense of belonging through shared consumption experiences. Our findings demonstrate that KVD's YouTube narratives of her tattooed body, fashion, and lifestyle have contributed to transcend the status of the tattooed body to the fashioned body that expresses her values.