"Armansky's star researcher was a pale, anorexic young woman who had hair as short as a fuse, and a pierced nose and eyebrows" (41).
Lisbeth Salander is no stranger to pain. Whether it's emotional or physical, she's been through it. With very many tattoos and piercings, she fits in with today's popular culture, but not necessarily where she works. "The fact that Salander worked for Dragan Armansky at all was astonishing. She was not the sort of woman with whom he would normally come into contact" (41). While Salander's appearance is somewhat odd to the older generation, it is a mere representation of the generation growing up into adults right now. A study done by Northwestern University in 2014 says that 72% of the pierced population in America are women, 83% of American's have their earlobes pierced and the nose is the second most popular place on the body to have a piercing. Lisbeth also appears to have gauged her ears, which is something that is more common in men than women. Tattoos and piercings have been looked at negatively when they're on a woman's body, but that doesn't stop Lisbeth from being the powerful woman she is.