East Tennessee State University Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University Electronic Theses and Dissertations Student Works 8-2015 Poking, Prodding, and Piercing: Becoming a Successful Body Modifier Joshua A. Ison East Tennessee State University Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd Part of the Inequality and Stratification Commons, Other Sociology Commons, and the Social Psychology and Interaction Commons Recommended Citation Ison, Joshua A., "Poking, Prodding, and Piercing: Becoming a Successful Body Modifier" (2015). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 2551. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2551 This Thesis - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Works at Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Poking, Prodding, and Piercing: Becoming a Successful Body Modifier _____________________ A thesis presented to the faculty of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology East Tennessee State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in Sociology _____________________ by Joshua A. Ison August 2015 _____________________ Joseph Baker, Ph.D., Chair Martha Copp, Ph.D. Kelly Foster, Ph.D. Keywords: body modification, tattoo, piercing, virtual self, relationships, pain ABSTRACT Poking, Prodding, and Piercing: Becoming a Successful Body Modifier by Joshua A. Ison Body modification is a global phenomenon. In the southeastern United States, two forms of modifications present themselves most often: piercings and tattoos. Much of the research conducted on body modifications looks at deviance as a primary concern, focusing less on what the individuals are like.