Customizing the Body (PDF file) - Print My Tattoo

45 Becoming and Being a Tattooed Person
R-No, but he says he wants to get some.... Hey, this really
doesn't hurt that much. It doesn't go in very deep, does it? It's
like picking a splinter out of your skin. I was going to get either
a unicorn or a pegasus. I had my sister draw one up because I
thought they just drew the picture on you or something. I
didn't know they did it this way (with an acetate stencil). I
guess this makes a lot more sense.
S-You ever been in a tattoo shop before this?
R-No, this is my first time. Another guy was going to come in
with me, but he chickened out.
As will be apparent in later chapters, tattooists, for the most
part, are quite patient about answering the questions clients ask
with numbing regularity (pain, price, and permanence). This
helps to put the recipient more at ease, smooths the service delivery
interaction, and increases the chances that a satisfied customer-who
will recommend the shop to his or her friends and
perhaps return again for additional work-will leave the establishment
(see Govenar, 1977; Becker and Clark, 1979; St. Clair
and Govenar, 1981).
Choosing a Design and Body Location
Tattooees commonly described the basic reasons for deciding to
become tattooed in very general terms. Wearing a tattoo connected
the person to significant others who were similarly
marked, made one unique by separating him or her from those
who were too convention-bound to so alter their bodies, symbolized
freedom or self-control. and satisfied an aesthetic desire to
decorate the physical self. 6
The image one chooses, on the other hand, is usually selected
for a specific reason. Typically, design choice is related to the person's
connection to other people, his or her definition of self or,
especially in the case of women, the desire to enhance and beautify
the body.
One of the most common responses to my question, "How did
you go about deciding on this particular tattoo?" was a reference
to a personal associate with whom they had a close emotional relationship.
Some chose a particular tattoo because it was like that