Customizing the Body (PDF file) - Print My Tattoo

125 The Tattoo Relationship
pace of the shop as a mark of professionalism and artistry (only
tattooists who are "only into it for the money" or who are technically
unskllled rush the tattooing process), customers are often
not as casual about the whole thing. Clients typically enter the
tattoo establishment with a single-minded desire to undergo what
they anxiously anticipate to be a painful experience. Waiting for
long periods of time or being told to "come back tomorrow when
we open" have the potential of precipitating sign1f1cant conflict.
[Quote from fieldnotes) there is a group of four young male
customers around the counter when I come in. They turn
out to all be on the lacrosse team at (local university). They are
all sitting around and drinking beer while Jerry is tattooing a
cartoon bear with a lacrosse stick on one guy's hip (jocks
always get "hip shots" because coaches hate tattoos and this is
an easily hidden body area). I put my case in the back room,
come back out and sit on the stool by the mirror in Monty's
area. I ask the guy nearest me if they are all getting work done.
"Yeah, we were here last night and he (indicates one of the
guys) was the only one who could get it done. The rest of us
came back today. He (indicates guy who just left to go to the
bar across the street) was really psyched. He was going to do it
himself but we talked him into dOing it today.... " (Later) one
guy asks me for the time and I tell him it is a little after five.
He says they have been there since two. Jerry hears this and
says, "It's taking more time because you're getting them on
your hips. If you would have them on your arm or someplace
like that it wouldn't take as long." I observe that it takes a lot of
patience to get a tattoo. One of the other guys says, "This is
nothing. I have some friends that got tattoos up in
[neighboring state) and after they had been there for five hours
the guy said he was closing up. They say you have to go up
there and get a motel room because you can never be sure if
you are going to get it done that day."
Bob comes into the backroom complaining about the people
who are still waiting to get work done. "Man, 1£ some tattoo
artist said it was too late for him to work on me I wouldn't
complain. These assholes come in here and expect it to be like