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I Can Do Whatever the Hell I Want”: Female Tattoo Artists, Their Experiences, and Identity Creation

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I Can Do Whatever the Hell I Want”: Female Tattoo Artists, Their Experiences, and Identity Creation "I CAN DO WHATEVER THE HELL I WANT”: FEMALE TATTOO ARTISTS, THEIR EXPERIENCES, AND IDENTITY CREATION Johni Amos A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY December 2019 Committee: Lesa Lockford, Advisor Bradford Clark Graduate Faculty Representative Radhika Gajjala Allison Terry-Fritsch ii ABSTRACT Lesa Lockford, Advisor In this dissertation I explore the lived experience and identity creation of female tattoo artists. Identity is not singular, as such this project examines identity on multiple levels, each more specific: identity in the broad tattoo community, identity as a tattooed woman, and identity as a female tattoo artist. Each chapter explores identity and experiences within its particular focus and provides evidence, based on interviews, observations, and supporting research, as to how participants negotiate their agency to constitute their identities. I utilize both a phenomenological and ethnographic approach. As such, I conducted interviews with seven female tattoo artists as well as five female clients and two male colleagues. The chapters are built around the emerging themes from these interviews and observed interactions, as well as my own experiences as a tattooed woman. These themes include handling emerging conflicts as participants identify with or resist identification with the tattoo community, navigating personal reasons for getting tattooed amidst the various reactions of others, and negotiating their identities as female tattoo artists while encountering societal gender norms as well as gender norms within the tattoo industry. Through the participants’ narratives, their experiences, how they navigate a male dominated work environment, how they constitute their identity and challenge or reify gender norms is revealed. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to take this opportunity to thank those who offered their guidance and support throughout this process. First to my committee: Lesa Lockford, Bradford Clark, Allie Terry- Fritsch, and Radhika Gajjala. I also want to thank Ellen Berry for starting this project with me and supporting me as I began my doctoral career. Thank you to Brad for serving as my graduate representative and to Radhika for your willingness to join the committee after receiving a random email one day. A special thanks to Allie Terry-Fritsch for introducing me to somaesthetics and for challenging me to expand my perspective. Finally, I need to offer my sincerest and most heartfelt gratitude to my dedicated and infinitely patient advisor, Lesa Lockford. Lesa, words will never accurately express my appreciation for all the support you gave me. You pushed me to be a better writer even when I resisted, you tolerated and accepted all my idiosyncrasies, and you never, ever gave up on me. I will forever keep your “You will graduate, damnit!” email. Thank you for guiding and supporting me along this journey, especially while navigating your own. Thank you to each of the women and men who shared their stories and experiences with me. Without you, this dissertation would not have been possible. I appreciate your willingness to talk to a complete stranger, your candor, and your trust in me. I am honored that I had the opportunity to get to know each of you and hope that reflects as I share your stories with others. Thank you to my family. My parents, the Jerrys, who may not always understand what I’m doing, but always support me as I do it. To my brother, Jeff, for teaching me to be tough with your big brother ways and for making me (still) question whether it’s possible for you to be the voice of Panthro from the Thundercats. To my sister, Heather. Thank you for being my first role model, for being my first educator and the one who taught me there’s always more to learn, iv for instilling my passion for reading, and for ensuring I embraced my inner nerd. Thank you for making sure I liked good music, pinball, “Yes & Know” books, board games, and trivia. Most importantly, thank you for your constant support and guidance, for always being there for me, and for being the best friend and sister I could ever ask for. And, finally, a huge thank you to my support network: all my friends, writing partners, and “accountabilibuddies.” I want to thank my main cheerleader in life, Tracy Hardaway. I am forever grateful for the myriad ways you are there for me every day. I especially need to acknowledge your contribution to my main motivator as I finished this project: the sticker chart and prizes. Thank you for sharing a brain with me. To Kate Schaab for being my first friend at BG, for your constant support and willingness to let me rant and bounce ideas (whatever they may be) off you, for your introduction of various tv shows, and for your ability to write every word you know. Thanks to Jacob Clemens for your years of friendship, acting as a writing partner, and never being more than 85% sure that anyone, including me, should complete a PhD – even when your completed yours. To all those who forced me to get my butt in the chair to write and cheered me along as I did it: Kelly Jo Larsen, Mallory Jagodzinski, Lisa Woronzoff, Chris Moody, Charlie Braun, my colleagues at Bowling Green State University and American University, my supportive friends, and everyone I’ve mentioned: thank you for believing in me. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1 Literature Review....................................................................................................... 2 Theoretical Framework .............................................................................................. 20 Methodology .............................................................................................................. 26 Participant Profiles ..................................................................................................... 32 The Artists ...................................................................................................... 32 540...................................................................................................... 32 Dawn .................................................................................................. 34 Debbie ................................................................................................ 35 Kat ...................................................................................................... 36 Kim .................................................................................................... 37 Mary ................................................................................................... 38 Naomi ................................................................................................. 39 Robyn ................................................................................................. 40 The Clients and Colleagues ........................................................................... 41 Anthony.............................................................................................. 41 Clare ................................................................................................... 42 Cynthia ............................................................................................... 42 Esmerelda ........................................................................................... 43 Mike ................................................................................................... 44 Ruby ................................................................................................... 44 vi Chapter Breakdown ................................................................................................... 45 CHAPTER II. “I FOUND MY PEEPS’: FINDING IDENTITY WITHIN THE GROUP ... 48 What’s in a Name? ..................................................................................................... 49 Is It a Community?......................................................................................... 49 Or a Subculture? ............................................................................................ 54 How About a Figuration?............................................................................... 60 Conflicts Within the Group ........................................................................................ 66 As Tattoos Mainstream .................................................................................. 67 Old School vs. New School ........................................................................... 73 The Rise and Impact of Media ....................................................................... 76 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 83 CHAPTER III. “I’M A PERSON ON A TRAJECTORY IN LIFE”: CLAIMING IDENTITY AS A TATTOOED WOMAN............................................................................ 84 The Complex Answer(s) to a Simple Question: Why? .............................................. 85 An Aesthetic Appreciation ............................................................................. 88 Being Part of the Subculture .......................................................................... 90 It’s My Body, and I’ll Do What I Want To ................................................... 93 The Complex
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