Customizing the Body (PDF file) - Print My Tattoo

131 The Tattoo Relationship
The regretful tattooee, having made a purchase decision that is
practically irreversible, experiences a high level of cognitive dissonance.
If the more extreme options presented above are not defined
as Viable, the individual must find ways of readjusting his or
her perceptions of the tattoo in order to regain some degree of psychological
comfort. Typically, regretful tattooees reestablish consonance
either by simply resigning themselves to the unsatisfactory
tattoo (like one comes to accept an overlarge nose or a receded
hairline), by seeking information that helps to disconfirm the
negative evaluation, or by adjusting one's definition of the tattoo
so as to see it as haVing positive attributes (London and Della
8itta, 1984: 694-697; Assael, 1984: 47-49; Cummings and Venkatesan,
1975). The tattooee may seek out other tattooed people
who can provide information that will support a definition of the
tattoo as being of reasonable, if not outstanding, quality. The tattoo
work carried by others provides a basis for direct comparison
of technique and design. Since much commercial tattooing is of
mediocre quality at best. it is likely that the dissatisfied tattooee
will have little difficulty finding work that is inferior to his or her
own. Alternatively, the regretful tattoo reCipient may readjust his
or her perception of the meaning of the disvalued tattoo. While
the work may not be entirely satisfactory technically or creatively,
it can be seen as haVing other positive attributes. For example,
when asked why she did not get a coverup over a crudely rendered
"homemade" tattoo, one interviewee replied:
I was going to get it covered but I deCided not to. I've had it
since I was sixteen and I guess it is part of me now. It is the
first tattoo I got ... my boyfriend did it with a needle and india
ink. It reminds me of what I was into in that part of my life. It's
a way of marking the changes.
THE TATTOOIST'S APPROACHES TO EXERCISING
CONTROL OVER INSHOP INTERACTION
As seen in the previous chapter, learning to evaluate clients and
developing styles of interaction that will win trust are central elements
of the process of becoming a tattooist. The major actors in
the tattoo setting have different goals and possess different degrees