In analyses of tattoo contests, advertising, and modern primitive photographs, the book shows how images of tattooed bodies communicate and disrupt notions of gender, class, and exoticism through their discursive performances. Fenske suggests working within dominant discourse to represent and subvert oppressive gender and class evaluations.

In analyses of tattoo contests, advertising, and modern primitive photographs, the book tells the story of the history of the tattooed body on display in the Unites States while demonstrating how images of tattooed bodies communicate and disrupt notions of gender, class, and exoticism through their discursive performances.