“It’s actually a job you are married to”

Abstract

The tattoo, once an indicator of belonging to subculture, deviant, and marginalized groups, or specific occupations, has become mainstream. Given that their social world has not yet been studied in much detail, this research aimed to explore the work experiences of tattoo artists. For the purposes of the research, semi-structured interviews with tattoo artists were conducted. The results show that for tattoo artists, tattooing is more than just a job – rather, it is integral to their lifestyle. Tattoo artists give particular importance to family and friends and support and belonging in both tattoo-specific and broader alternative scenes. With regard to cultural capital, a specific type of cultural capital, “alternative cultural capital,” proved to be important.