Habitus is a type of order that explains how an individual becomes a member of a society or a culture and can be studied to learn about that society or culture. Daniel Miller is introducing a similar approach to order of individuals’ material relationships through which one can learn about meaningful representation of the individual subjects themselves. These relationships could be interpreted as being highly subjective and be seen in the form of a practice of self-construction. In a search for an anthropology of morality authors such as Mattingly (et.al) are complementary using virtue ethics and Foucault´s notion of “a care of the self” as a moral practice to study moral subjectivity and its formation. Strathern and Stewart claim that embodiment, as a theoretical concept, can show how the mind, body, and experience come together and provide insight into personhood. This thesis focuses on tattoos as a moral practice, by studying individuals through a narrative of a moral being, with the aim to understand its formation of moral subjectivity and its embodiment of individuality. In conclusion, there will be argued that the practice of tattoos creates a negotiation between the individual mind and body, and between the practice itself and the society where it takes place.

OBJECTIF. L'objectif général de cette recherche est ainsi de comprendre l'expérience qu’ont les justiciables avec leurs tatouages réalisés en milieu carcéral. Trois objectifs spécifiques en résultent. Le premier vise à mettre en lumière et comprendre la pratique des tatouages en milieu carcéral. Le second tend à exposer ce que représentent les tatouages carcéraux pour les personnes qui y ont eu recours. Le troisième objectif est d’analyser les enjeux liés aux tatouages en prison. METHODOLOGIE. Les données de l’étude ont été collectées par le biais d’entrevues qualitatives non-directives menées auprès de neuf hommes libérés de prison, ayant réalisé au moins un tatouage au cours de leur peine. Les données ont fait l’objet d’une analyse verticale, pour relever les thèmes abordés par chaque personne rencontrée. Ces thèmes ont ensuite été conceptualisés, avant de faire l’objet d’une analyse commune. RESULTATS. L’analyse des données a permis de mettre en lumière la façon dont les détenus se représentent les tatouages carcéraux. L’étude permet également de relever les dangers que les justiciables associent à cette pratique, et le rapport qu'ils ont avec leurs tatouages. Ces données permettent de mettre en lumière que le tatouage s’inscrit comme un outil qui permet de lutter contre les effets délétères de la prison, ainsi qu’un moyen de définir son identité auprès des autres. / OBJECTIVE. The general objective of this research is to understand the experience that litigants have with their tattoos made in a carceral environment. Three specific objectives result. The first aims to highlight and understand the practice of tattoos in prisons. The second tends to expose what prison tattoos represent for the people who have used them. The third objective is to analyze the issues related to tattoos in prison. METHODOLOGY. The data for the study were collected through non-structured qualitative interviews conducted with nine men released from prison, who had at least one tattoo during their sentence. The data was subjected to a vertical analysis, to identify the themes discussed by each person met. These themes were then conceptualized, before being the subject of a joint analysis. RESULTS. Data analysis shed light on how inmates represent prison tattoos. The study also highlights the dangers that litigants associate with this practice, and the relationship they have with their tattoos. This data highlights that tattooing is a tool to combat the harmful effects of prison, as well as a means of defining one's identity to others.