Professional identities in a changing world, life narratives from tattoo artists in The Netherlands

The tattoo world has seen dramatic changes in the last 30 years. Amid other phenomena, the popularization of tattoos between middle class workers and new mainstream aesthetics revolving tattooed bodies have helped to clean that stigmatized label that tattooing had as an illegitimate craft. Tattooers traditionally learnt the profession by means of apprenticeships where technical knowledge was acquired by the interaction with experienced and established tattooers tutors. Moreover, during the apprenticeships the tattooers internalized a relatively homogenous set of norms and values. Nonetheless, the times have changed, people learn and work in different ways. Besides, the inclusion of women and other genders into the field has created numerous variations on the tattooing conventions. This study delves into narratives from tattooers residing in The Netherlands to understand what influence the creation of professional identities. For that purpose, I carefully gathered the testimonies of a diverse group of tattoo artists from different backgrounds, experience and styles. During the interviews I inquired about the experiences of the tattooers embedded in a consumer-producer dichotomy. This means, the processes of being and doing translated into the experiences of being tattooed and tattooing others. Therefore, observing changes in the behaviour of the subjects across their experience, from the first to the last tattoo. The literature review elucidated that academics have ignored the relationship of this consumer-producer dichotomy in identity construction investigation. In that sense, tattooers are use as an example to explore new research perspectives that are not limited to the field of body modification practices. Nonetheless, more appropriate to understand divergent cultural groups and professions. Three themes came out of analysing tattooer narratives. Firstly, the socialization practices, understood as how the practitioner deal with the numerous norms and values of the tattoo world. For instance, what is the role of aesthetics in tattooers identities, Secondly, the importance of the learning process as career path developer and builder of normative behaviours. Here, I explore different ways of learning the practice of tattooing and its relationships with tattoo conventions. Finally, the influence of gender identities and the contestation of gender stereotypes in a field that was considered as traditionally masculine.