In preparation for this class session, we read several articles recounting sociological studies of tattooed people. The Atkinson article about tattoo enthusiasts talked about the importance of pain to the process: \u201cViewed as a sacred part of being tattooed and as a mark of one\u2019s commitment, the ability to endure pain is lauded by many enthusiasts\u201d (332). I thought it was interesting how explicit some of the enthusiasts were about their enjoyment of \u2013 or at least deep respect for \u2013 the pain of the tattooing process. I have always thought of the pain of getting a tattoo as an unfortunate byproduct of getting art on your body forever, versus an integral part of having that art. Atkinson also noted that \u201cstudios often become known locally for the specific types of patrons serviced,\u201d which made me wonder, in relation to my research topic, whether there are specific studios frequented by musicians (334). For example, do an overwhelming number of musicians living in Nashville, L.A., or NYC go to the same artist for their tattoos? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In her \u201cFirst Tattoo\u201d article, Irwin writes that many of the participants in her study belong to certain \u201cfringe social groups,\u201d which often include music-based subcultures (56). I think the historical influence of music subcultures on tattooing practices will have an impact on modern-day intersections between tattooing and the music industry. Further, Irwin says \u201cone of the major constraints that prevents individuals from engaging in deviance is their relationship with mainstream individuals\u201d (57). Is it the case that the more popular a music artist is, the farther away they move from \u201cmainstream individuals\u201d? Or is the opposite true, because popularity places them directly in the sites of the mainstream? The second Irwin article on \u201cElite Tattoo Collectors\u201d elaborates on my earlier question about whether specific tattoo studios are hubs for musicians; she writes \u201ccollectors and artists sometimes find themselves circulating within celebrity social networks\u2026this is especially true for members of the rock n\u2019 roll scene\u201d (48). I think this somewhat confirms my thought that certain artists are sought after by musicians more than others, but I would love to identify some specific studios. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The final two articles were also authored by Atkinson. In the study of Neo Primitives, Atkinson and Young discuss the \u201csocially constructed body,\u201d which they define as \u201cthe body that is voluntarily sought out and manufactured as a site of social and cultural meaning\u201d (119). I thought this was a really interesting concept \u2013 how are musician\u2019s bodies constructed to be culturally meaningful? Do the inscriptions they place on their bodies in the form of tattoos influence their cultural meaning as a public figure? In the final article, Atkinson talks about a specific tattoo subculture known as \u201cstraightedge,\u201d which is based on living sober and taking close care of one\u2019s body. I had never heard of this subculture before; I usually think of tattooing as closely tied in with party culture. I appreciated Atkinson\u2019s inclusion of a history of the subculture, because I knew nothing about it before this reading.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In preparation for this class session, we read several articles recounting sociological studies of tattooed people. The Atkinson article about tattoo enthusiasts talked about the importance of pain to the process: \u201cViewed as a sacred part of being tattooed and as a mark of one\u2019s commitment, the ability to endure pain is lauded by many […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11910,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/ar473-fall2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/ar473-fall2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/ar473-fall2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/ar473-fall2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11910"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/ar473-fall2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=704"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/ar473-fall2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":705,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/ar473-fall2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704\/revisions\/705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/ar473-fall2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/ar473-fall2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/ar473-fall2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}