Adventurers, cool and tattooed: identity and differentiation of travelers in the universe of material culture

IDENTIDADE E DIFERENCIAÇÃO DOS VIAJANTES NO UNIVERSO DA CULTURA MATERIAL

Abstract

The body holds multiple meanings and serves as a significant means of communication in our symbolic universe. In the formation of representations attached to it, tattoos emerge as social codes linked to identities and the desired differentiations. Based on studies of communication and material culture, this research examines how marks etched on the skin, particularly those associated with travel, become records of experiences, builders of connections, and even objects with distinctive values. This study emphasizes the understanding of tattoos as tourist narratives and as accounts aligned with social status — as objects of material culture, body marks become souvenirs and, in the context of tourism, mementos. Thus, adopting a qualitative and exploratory approach, we analyze five publications from websites and blogs related to the themes under examination, aiming to shed light on these debates about subjectivities. The results indicate that the icons and texts on the skin seek to reveal an image associated with courage, freedom, and cosmopolitanism, and that this continues to have an influence on others.