IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/woemps/v32y2018i1p169-185.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

‘Cool’ Meanings: Tattoo Artists, Body Work and Organizational ‘Bodyscape’

Author

Listed:
  • Ruth Simpson

    (Brunel University, UK)

  • Alison Pullen

    (Macquarie University, Australia)

Abstract

This article analyses the meanings tattooists as ‘body workers’ construct around their work. Based on an ethnographic study, the research finds that tattooists adhere to notions of non-conformity, unconventional artistry and professionalism. We locate these meanings within the cultural values and aesthetics of ‘cool’ as an admired set of attributes and displays which enable tattooists to manage some of the tensions of the work. Combining Bourdieu’s concept of habitus with Gagliardi’s notion of landscape, we develop the idea of ‘bodyscape’ to further an integrated understanding of body work as spatialized and embodied i.e. one which incorporates the significance of spatial practices and artefacts, the bodies of those worked upon and the embodied dispositions of workers.

Suggested Citation

  • Ruth Simpson & Alison Pullen, 2018. "‘Cool’ Meanings: Tattoo Artists, Body Work and Organizational ‘Bodyscape’," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 32(1), pages 169-185, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:32:y:2018:i:1:p:169-185
    DOI: 10.1177/0950017017741239
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0950017017741239
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0950017017741239?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Shalene Chugh & Philip Hancock, 2009. "Networks of aestheticization: the architecture, artefacts and embodiment of hairdressing salons," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 23(3), pages 460-476, September.
    2. Carol Wolkowitz, 2002. "The Social Relations of body Work," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 16(3), pages 497-510, September.
    3. Caleb Warren & Margaret C. Campbell, 2014. "What Makes Things Cool? How Autonomy Influences Perceived Coolness," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 41(2), pages 543-563.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Erin Hatton, 2017. "Mechanisms of invisibility: rethinking the concept of invisible work," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 31(2), pages 336-351, April.
    2. Rodrigues, Mariana Berga & Loureiro, Sandra Maria Correia & Romero, Maria Inês Relvas, 2024. "Luxury fashion games are so cool! Predicting awareness, perceived quality, and loyalty," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    3. Elaine Swan & Rick Flowers, 2018. "Lasting Impressions: Ethnic Food Tour Guides and Body Work in Southwestern Sydney," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(1), pages 24-41, January.
    4. Ziano, Ignazio & Pandelaere, Mario, 2018. "The majority premium: Competence inferences derived from majority consumption," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 339-349.
    5. Diane van den Broek, 2017. "Perforated body work: the case of tele-nursing," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 31(6), pages 904-920, December.
    6. Clare Butler, 2020. "Managing the Menopause through ‘Abjection Work’: When Boobs Can Become Embarrassingly Useful, Again," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 34(4), pages 696-712, August.
    7. Zhang, Mingyue & Chen, Haipeng (Allan), 2024. "Risk-taking to restore negative self-view: The effect of autonomy and subjective business on financial risk-taking," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    8. Tiwari, Amit Anand & Chakraborty, Anirban & Maity, Moutusy, 2021. "Technology product coolness and its implication for brand love," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    9. Anuratha Venkataraman & Anjali Venkataraman, 2021. "Lockdown & me …!! Reflections of working women during the lockdown in Vadodara, Gujarat‐Western India," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(S2), pages 289-306, July.
    10. Dawn Lyon & Les Back, 2012. "Fishmongers in a Global Economy: Craft and Social Relations on a London Market," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 17(2), pages 1-11, May.
    11. Joshua T Beck & Ryan Rahinel & Alexander Bleier & Simona Botti & Darren W Dahl & J Jeffrey Inman, 2020. "Company Worth Keeping: Personal Control and Preferences for Brand Leaders [Measuring Brand Equity across Products and Markets]," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 46(5), pages 871-886.
    12. Adriaenssens, Stef, 2010. "'Its all supply and demand': Market fatalism and norm construction by prostitution clients in the Netherlands and Belgium," Working Papers 2010/18, Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel, Faculteit Economie en Management.
    13. Bitterl, Sally & Schreier, Martin, 2018. "When consumers become project backers: The psychological consequences of participation in crowdfunding," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 673-685.
    14. Jason Hughes & Ruth Simpson & Natasha Slutskaya & Alex Simpson & Kahryn Hughes, 2017. "Beyond the symbolic: a relational approach to dirty work through a study of refuse collectors and street cleaners," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 31(1), pages 106-122, February.
    15. Virve Peteri, 2017. "Bad Enough Ergonomics," SAGE Open, , vol. 7(1), pages 21582440166, January.
    16. Anika Stuppy & Nicole L Mead & Stijn M J Van Osselaer & JoAndrea Hoegg & Eileen Fischer & Kirmani Amna, 2020. "I Am, Therefore I Buy: Low Self-Esteem and the Pursuit of Self-Verifying Consumption [The Origins of Deference: When Do People Prefer Lower Status?]," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 46(5), pages 956-973.
    17. Lv, Zhe & Zhao, Wenjia & Liu, Yu & Wu, Jie & Hou, Mutian, 2024. "Impact of perceived value, positive emotion, product coolness and Mianzi on new energy vehicle purchase intention," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    18. Tracey Yeadon-Lee, 2012. "Doing Identity with Style: Service Interaction, Work Practices and the Construction of ‘Expert’ Status in the Contemporary Hair Salon," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 17(4), pages 56-66, November.
    19. Helen Rainbird & Michael Rose, 2008. "Work, Employment and Society, 1997—2007," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 22(2), pages 203-220, June.
    20. Agnete Meldgaard Hansen & Annette Kamp, 2018. "From Carers to Trainers: Professional Identity and Body Work in Rehabilitative Eldercare," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(1), pages 63-76, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:32:y:2018:i:1:p:169-185. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.britsoc.co.uk/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.