Customizing the Body (PDF file) - Print My Tattoo

192 Methodological Appendix
laborers, and occasional groups of college students and secretaries.
One establishment was a custom studio in which a tattooist
with extensive professional experience in a variety of artistic media
created original and unique works of art for a generally more
select, monied, and aesthetically sophisticated clientele.
For the most part, my role was that of one of a number of regular
hangers-on who either lived in the neighborhood or were
friends of the local artist. My participation in the establishment to
which I originally gained access was considerably more extensive.
In addition to (apparently) just standing around and chatting, I
routinely helped with the business of the shop. I made change for
the amusement games, provided information about cost and availability
of designs, stretched the skin of customers who were receiving
tattoos on body areas other than arms or legs, calmed the
anxiety of first-time recipients, and, in a variety of ways, made
myself useful.
As my involvement with and knowledge of the world of tattooing
progressed, my role in the national tattoo community also expanded.
In a variety of circumstances, my status as university
based sociologist proved useful in helping to legitimize tattooing
as a commercial and cultural activity. I participated in television
talk shows, offered testimony to zoning boards considering the ad­
Visability of allowing tattoo studios to open in downtown business
areas, wrote letters to lawyers handling cases for tattooists being
persecuted by the local authorities, and, in other ways, selectively
used my knowledge and more or less respected social position to
help redefine tattooing in the face of Widespread public distaste
and misunderstanding. I emphasize the selectivity of the assistance
I prOVided. While most tattooists are principled, reasonably
skilled, and acceptably hygienic, a minority continue to fit into
and reinforce the common stereotype. I was careful to qualify my
support for tattooing when talking with media representativesemphasizing
the artistic qualities of the work done by certain tattooists-and
decline to assist those practitioners about whom I
had no first-hand knowledge. The nonacademic writing I did on
tattooing was directed primarily at those who were already members
of the subculture. For example, I wrote an article for a motorcycle
magaZine advising readers on how to evaluate the quality of