Flesh Journeys

Neo Primitives and the Contemporary Rediscovery of Radical Body Modification

Bibliographic Data

ID8047738
AuthorsKevin Atkinson (University of Calgary, corresponding author), Kevin Young Michael Atkinson (a University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada)
Year2001
Volume22
Issue2
Pages117-146
Publication date2001-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueDeviant Behavior (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0163-9625 • E-ISSN: 1521-0456
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/016396201750065018
OpenAlexW2162275372
LanguageEN
Citations received31

Viewing the body as both an evocative social text and a vehicle of social resistance, this article explores recent developments within the Neo Primitive (NP) movement. As a segmented branch of the larger body modification cultural scene, Neo Primitives have created individuals have created a renaissance of deeply flamboyant and often radical body marking practices. Members stress the spiritual, emotional, and practical rewards of body modification for those entrenched within (and ultimately oppressed by) hegemonic boundaries of physical expression in the modern metropolis, especially as those boundaries relate to codes of beauty, gender, sexuality, spirituality, and personal creativity. Building on qualitative data gathered in two Canadian cities, and viewing members of this subculture as active agents of counter-expression and dissent, this article explores the ideologies, practices, and lived experiences of NPs attempting to recreate, reclaim, and revolutionize the flesh

Beauty · Expression (computer science · Flesh · Body Image and Dysmorphia Studies · Fashion and Cultural Textiles · Tattoo and Body Piercing Complications