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(Re)Writing Woman With "The Laugh Of The Medusa" And Antioedipus, Samantha Rodgers

Online Theses and Dissertations

The importance of tattooing as an area of feminist composition study lies in its challenge to male discourse concerning the subjectivity of sexed, particularly female sexed, bodies that feminism has long ignored due to fear of essentialization. Cixous argues: "…Censor the body and you censor breath and speech at the same time. Write yourself. Your body must be heard" (8). Tattooing has transitioned from writing masculine group identity (gangs, prisoners, sailors, etc.) into writing feminine embodied experience. It is a way for women to rewrite institutionalized norms of womanhood and humanity. Consequently, this paper argues that tattoos are a form …