Sociology 8th Edition by Margaret Andersen ,Howard Taylor ,Kim Logio

Exercise 1

Tattoos: Status Risk or Status Symbol?
Research Question Not so long ago, tattoos were considered a mark of social outcasts. They were associated with gang members, sailors, and juvenile delinquents. But now tattoos are in vogue-a symbol of who's trendy and hip. How did this happen that a once stigmatized activity associated with the working class became a statement of middle-class fashion?
Research Method: This is what sociologist Katherine Irwin wanted to know when she first noticed the increase in tattooing among the middle class. Irwin first encountered the culture of tattooing when she accompanied a friend getting a tattoo in a shop she calls Blue Mosque. She started hanging out in the shop and began a four-year study using participant observation in the shop, along with interviews of people getting their first tattoos. Irwin also interviewed some of the parents of tattooees and potential tattooees.
Research Results: Irwin found that middle-class tattoo patrons were initially fearful that their desire for a tattoo would associate them with low-status groups, but they reconciled this by adopting attitudes that associated tattooing with middle-class values and norms. Thus, they defined tattooing as symbolic of independence, liberation, and freedom from social constraints. Many of the women defined tattooing as symbolizing toughness and strength- values they thought rejected more conventional ideals of femininity.
Some saw tattoos as a way of increasing their attachment to alternative social groups or to gain entrée into "fringe" social worlds. Although tattoos held different cultural meanings to different groups, people getting tattooed used various techniques (what Irwin calls "legitimation techniques") to counter the negative stereotypes associated with tattooing.
Conclusions and Implications: Irwin concludes that people try to align their behavior with legitimate cultural values and norms even when that behavior seemingly falls outside of prevailing standards.
Do you think of tattoos as fashionable or deviant? What do you think influences your judgment about this, and how might your judgment be different were you in a different culture, age group, or historical moment?