Body Piercing and Identity Construction: A Comparative Perspective - New York, New Orleans, Wroclaw

A theoretical exploration of piercing and other forms of body modification that urban communities of defiance use to express their identity, this analysis demonstrates the socioeconomic, political, and sexual conditions that give rise to these unique mechanisms of discursive dissent. Romanienko also describes the resources available that contribute to its popularity, the disenchantment with modernity and conventional methods of political engagement that compels defiant communities to choose these particular forms of embodied defiance, as well as the profound socioeconomic and political challenges solidifying embodied militancy for the immediate future. Using a variety of quantitative and qualitative methodologies, body piercing is shown to be an important factor in the struggle for authenticity and global solidarity with the disenfranchised, particularly in developing cultural contexts. Extracts of the manuscript have received awards from the Society for the Study of Social Problems and the Mid-South Sociological Association.