My name is Sally and I am a graduate student at Bethel University in Saint Paul, MN. I am in the process of gathering tattoo stories to be used in my master's thesis. Specifically, I am collecting stories from women and what they think of their tattoos. What my thesis argues, in a nutshell, is that the individualistic process of getting a tattoo brings a woman into a larger community (tattooed people vs. the uninitiated) and creates a different perspective of the self and of others. A tattoo changes not only how a woman views herself, but how others view her as well. Many times, a tattoo instills a tremendous amount of pride in one's body. A woman who did not have much pride in her body is often times able to happily show off her tattoo to others. In other instances, a tattoo is intensely personal and kept to oneself. I hope to examine a large number of tattoo stories to shed more light on the ancient art of tattoo and how women view themselves and others in relation to that art.

The title of my thesis, "The Word Became Flesh" is a reference to Christ becoming human as seen in John 1:14. "...and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth." By naming my thesis as such, I am purposefully evoking the power of spirituality that can often be found in tattooing. Plus, the phrase just makes plain sounds awesome.

A large portion of my research will be devoted to the history of tattoo, especially in the Western world. The links on the right side of the page under "Tattoo History" will be for those who would like to review some of the sources I am utilizing in my thesis. I hope to have those links as well as some stories and pictures quite soon.

-Sally