Customizing the Body (PDF file) - Print My Tattoo

55 Becoming and Being a Tattooed Person
actually tell how I'm going to get along with people, and
vice-versa, by the way they react to my tattoo. It's more or less
expressive of the unconventional side of my character right up
front. Most of the people who seem to like me really dig the
tattoo too (quoted in Hill, 1972: 249).
While it is fairly easy to selectively reveal the tattoo in public
settings when interacting with strangers or casual associates,
hiding the fact that one is tattooed, thereby avoiding negative social
response, is difficult when the "other" is a person with whom
the tattooee is intimately associated. The majority of those interviewed
recounted incidents in which parents, friends, and, espe­
Cially for the women, lovers and spouses reacted badly when they
initially became aware of the tattoo.
(What did your husband say when he saw your tattoo?) He
said he almost threw up. It grossed him out. I had asked him
years ago, "What would you think if... :' and he didn't like
the idea. So, I decided not to tell him. It seemed a smart thing
to do. He just looked rather grossed out by the whole thing;
didn't like it. Now it is accepted, but I don't think he would go
for another one.
Another woman interviewee recounted a similar post-tattoo experience
with her parents and boyfriend.
My family was devastated. I didn't tell them for a long time. My
mother and I were on a train to New York City and I said to her,
"Mom, I want to tell you something but I don't want you to get
upset." She said, "You're pregnant!" I said, "No:' She says,
"You're getting married!" I said, "God, no!" It was downhill
from there. When I said, "I got a tattoo:' it was like, "Thank
God! That's all it is:' It wasn't that horrible. My father's
reaction was just one of disgust because women who get
tattoos to him are ... I don't know ... they just aren't nice
girls. They aren't the type of girl he wants his daughter to be.
He let me know that. He let me have it right between the eyes.
He said, "00 you know what kind of girls get tattoos?" and just
walked out of the room. That was enough. He thought tramps
get tattoos or girls that ride on the back seats of motorcycles,