‘I am proud of my back’: an ethnographic study of the motivations and meanings of body modification as identity work among athletes with spinal cord injury

Sparkes, Andrew C.; Brighton, James; Inckle, Kay

doi:10.1080/2159676x.2020.1756393

“…For some people, tattoos are a way of coping with their own history. Sparkes et al report about the body modification of five athletes after spinal cord injuries constructing or reconstructing their bodies with tattoos over time (7). David Allen, a tattoo artist from Chicago reports of the "healing role of Postmastectomie-Tattoos" for women with breast cancer (8).…”

Section: Tattoosmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Body modification: piercing and tattooing in congenital heart disease patients”, decoration or disaster?—a narrative review

Müller¹,

Breuer²,

Adler³

et al. 2021

Cardiovasc Diagn Ther

4

0

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Objective: Tattoos and piercings are types of body art, which are gaining popularity over the last decades.An increasing number of adolescents and adults with congenital heart disease (CHD) have piercings or tattoos. This review will provide prudent information on the subject for affected patients and health care professionals caring for them.Background: Amongst others, local infections are a common complication in up to 20% of all piercings and isolated cases of systemic infections like endocarditis have been reported. Individuals with congenital heart disease are especially susceptible to endocarditis and prone to suffer severe health consequences from it. In terms of tattooing endocarditis is less common but the localization must be well considered as it might interfere with cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR), which constitutes an important part of follow up investigations in these patients.Methods: This article is written as a commentary narrative review and will provide an update on the current literature and available data on common forms of body modification and the potential risks for patients with CHD. Conclusions:In order to best advise patients and their families, health care professionals must be aware of potential risks accompanying the implementation of body art. Neither the European nor the American guidelines for endocarditis prophylaxis address piercings and tattoos. To our knowledge, there are no clear recommendations concerning piercings and tattoos for adolescents and adults with CHD.

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“…To develop a sophisticated understanding of the culture of groups or organisations from the perspective of the members, ethnographic studies are considered a legitimate means for generating insights into the sociocultural mechanisms that influence human forms of life (e.g., Sparkes et al, 2020). This ethnographic study built on previously-collected interview data to adopt a critical realist ethnography (Atkinson, 2017), positioning the underlying socio-cultural-historical contexts to generate a deeper understanding of the factors that influence traditions, customs, and practices in the specific ecological niche (see Rothwell et al, 2018).…”

Section: Research Design and Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating the athlete-environment relationship in a form of life: an ethnographic study

Rothwell

¹

,

Stone

²

,

Davids

³

2020

Sport, Education and Society

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From the theoretical perspective of ecological dynamics, skilful behaviour in performance contexts like sport and education is predicted on the establishment of a functional relationship between an individual and the environment. The strength of this functional relationship is shaped over time by everyday behaviours, values, and customs (sociocultural practices) within a specific sport organisation. A growing body of research seeks to identify these influential sociocultural practices that emerge and exist in sport cultures and organisations.However, little is known from an ecological realism perspective how these practices affect an athlete's engagement with opportunities offered by the environment (e.g., affordances). In this study, we draw on ethnographic data and theoretical tenets of James Gibson's ecological psychology to identify how the sociocultural practices of a British rugby league football academy might shape an athlete's engagement with affordances. Findings revealed that masculinity and disciplined behaviours were the dominant sociocultural practices, instrumental in developing beliefs, values, and customs of athlete development practices. An ecological realism analysis of the data suggested that cultural pressures meant that key actors ignored the potential for development and learning of athletes' self-organisation tendencies, and inhibited individuals' capacities to respond to opportunities for action offered in many traditional practice designs. We conclude by discussing implications for sport practitioners that promote 'affordance-regulated' practice designs to enhance athlete-environment interactions.

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“…To develop a sophisticated understanding of the culture of groups or organisations from the perspective of the members, ethnographic studies are considered a legitimate means for generating insights into the sociocultural mechanisms that influence human forms of life (e.g., Sparkes et al, 2020). This ethnographic study built on previously collected interview data to adopt a critical realist ethnography , positioning the underlying socio-cultural-historical contexts to generate a deeper understanding of the factors that influence traditions, customs, and practices in the specific ecological niche (see Rothwell et al, 2018).…”

Section: Research Design and Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sociocultural constraints and the athlete-environment relationship in a form of life

Rothwell¹

0

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From the theoretical perspective of ecological dynamics, skilful behaviour in performance contexts like sport and education is predicted on the establishment of a functional relationship between an individual and the environment. The strength of this relationship is shaped over time by the everyday values, beliefs, traditions, customs, and behaviours (sociocultural practices) within a specific organisation. A conceptualisation of these sociocultural practices is a form of life, which illustrates the relational and situated nature of the contexts within which skilful behaviour emerges under social, political, cultural, and historical constraints. It is important to identify these influential sociocultural and historical practices that emerge, exist and shape practices in sport cultures and organisations. However, little is known from an ecological realism perspective how these practices affect athlete support systems, pedagogical practices, talent development programmes and an athlete’s engagement with affordances to develop a tightly knit athlete-environment relationship. To provide a deeper understanding of the relationship between a form of life and skilful athlete behaviour this thesis adopts qualitative research designs and integrates ideas from a range of scientific sub-disciplines. More specifically, data from the experiential knowledge of practitioners and observations of practice programmes and contexts in a team sport are analysed through the theoretical tenets of James Gibson’s ecological psychology. In adopting these research methods, the sociocultural practices of a British rugby league football academy are identified and interpreted to understand how they might shape an athlete’s engagement with affordances in learning and development landscapes. Results from the studies of this thesis suggest that forms of life are categorised by the complex interactions between many subsystems, where masculine, and disciplined behaviours were categorised as the dominant sociocultural pressures to constrain key actors into ignoring the potential for athletes’ self-organisation tendencies, and inhibited individuals’ capacities to respond to opportunities in the micro-structure of practice. Finally, to advance our understanding of the practical situations in which athletes become responsive to opportunities for skilful engagement with affordances, an integrative framework is presented to unpack the situated and embedded notions of skilful athlete behaviour.

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‘I am proud of my back’: an ethnographic study of the motivations and meanings of body modification as identity work among athletes with spinal cord injury

Cited by 4 publications

References 31 publications

“Body modification: piercing and tattooing in congenital heart disease patients”, decoration or disaster?—a narrative review

“Body modification: piercing and tattooing in congenital heart disease patients”, decoration or disaster?—a narrative review

Investigating the athlete-environment relationship in a form of life: an ethnographic study

Sociocultural constraints and the athlete-environment relationship in a form of life

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