2. Know yourself. Have you ever
considered the effect a tattoo may
have on your self image? If it improves
your self image, it will increase your
self-confidence and self-esteem. But, if
it detracts from your self image, you'll
be worse off. A well-chosen artistic
tattoo, one that flows with the body’s
curvatures, can enhance both your
inner and’outer beauty. It can be a
source of personal pride, drawing the
admiring glances of others. Poorly
chosen, however, it can be a source of
shame, sometimes lasting a lifetime.

3. Take time to make your decision.
All the pseudo-intellectual hype and
history about the culture of tattooing
and our inherent tribal need to deco-
rate the body is just that, hype and
history. Tattoos are often an impulse

- social event. “We all got drunk and
went in and got one done,” is a
common refrain, especially among
youth. While alcohol and drugs may
numb the pain of tattooing, they also
impair judgment. And when the drugs

wear off, your tattoo will still
be there.
The better tattoo artists
refuse to work on people
who are drunk or stoned.
Those who operate in bawdy
slum shops are not so
discrete. Prices vary and so
does expertise. Less
conscientious tattooists use
intimidation, peer pressure
and aggressive sales
pressure to force buyers into
hasty decisions and lasting
regrets.
Take time to decide upon
the tattoo that’s right for you.
Most satisfied customers
take months before choos-
ing a particular design. Like my niece,
they often re-design it over and over
again before committing themselves.

4. Talk it over with someone you
trust. It’s a good idea to let someone
you know and trust in on your decision
to get a tattoo. You need to bounce

Deviants
Feor.e Ar Opps

Deviance is a bad word.
To be deviant is to be
different, strangely
different, or odd.

contempt, an attack on

leadership, even sinful.
Surprisingly, deviants are

created by the societies

the status quo.

Eric Milner Photo

your thoughts and ideas off of some-
one. An alternative is to bounce them
off yourself by journalling. Journalling
can help you work through problems
and see more clearly what is important
to you.
One Vancouver artist-tattooist

believes that tattooists often double as

finding new means to
their ends, deviants
offend and challenge

Leaders label deviants,
often considering them
uncooperative and
wrong. Their independ-
ent ways are viewed as

whose current they swim
against. They swerve along
life’s pathways while others
queue; they hop when
others march. Constantly

Nothing is sacred.
These trail-blazers
brandish conspicu-
ously new codes of
conduct that leave