What Are Tattoos Affect Body Modifications?

Tattoos are common place in society today. No longer are they only on bikers or bad guys; now they are on doctors, lawyers and even pastors. Tattoos no longer determine a person’s character or who they are. They are a way of expressing oneself and showing experiences in a person’s life or expressions of meaningful things. Even older people are getting "ink" put on them. For as much as they are accepted in society, they are also still looked down upon. Having tattoos can affect being hired for a job and that can be looked upon as discrimination. Having tattoos does change a person’s possibility of getting hired for a job, although it should not.

Tattoos in today’s business society are a lot of times frowned upon for being unprofessional and not acceptable. Businesses assume if a possible future employee of theirs has tattoos or piercings they may not be as intelligent as one without tattoos. Society associates people with tattoos as bad people and they judge them based on how they look which is wrong. “In a study 31 percent of human resource managers said visible tattoos could have a negative impact on their decision whether to hire someone, but bad breath weighed even heavier in the survey. Employees with chewed fingernails and dark suntans were offered fewer promotions, the survey said.”(Burlington)

In today’s society possible employers often frown upon their employees being tattooed, however tattoos should not define a person. Considering this, Spokeswomen Ferris Morrison of Bank of American states, “We have

Moderation is important when discussing tattooing and piercings. When tattooing, piercings, and body modifications began to alter the overall appearance of the individual, the individual would be considered deviant by majority of society. There are many individuals in the United States that have tattoos and piercings, but majority of the people have tattoos that can be concealed or tattoos and piercings that are not gaudy. An article titled, “Tattoos in the Workplace” discussed that in 2012 a poll was conducted that stated that 21% of adults in the United States had tattoos (Osland, 2013). However, nearly 60% of people that have tattoos, have them in areas that are hidden by clothes (Kesling, 2013). Although this study may not cover every single individual in the United States, it does give a

Imagine a young boy in his late teens walking down a busy street with numerous piercing on his face and his hands, and neck covered in countless tattoos. The very first thoughts that pop up tend to be "Uneducated" or "scary", society is quick to judge. There is always a lot of controversy when it comes to body modifications. Most people instantly have an opinion of them; they either love them or hate them. What is not realized is the fact that there is a ton of time and effort put into the design and or locations of the tattoo/body piercing. People get body modifications as a way of self-expression and being set free from their boring lives. Unfortunately, in the business world, most executives do not believe there is such a thing as an “acceptable” body modification and see them as a sign of rebellion. Employers may argue that tattoos/piercings in the workplace are inappropriate, unprofessional, and even distracting. Although tattoos and body piercings are not respected by certain demographics and may portray negative images that may be

People who have tattoos or piercings should not be denied jobs. For an example, the persons tattoos or piercings may define their characteristics or personality. A person may have a tattoo sleeves that symbolizes a band, a family member or an object that they like. Piercings however can be all over a person’s body and they might like the placements of their piercings. At this point, discussions between the customers and employees on tattoos and piercings are being made. These discussions can range between “Why did the person decide to get a tattoo or piercing?” or “Does the employee really think they are going to qualify for the job because of those things?” According to Andrea Johnstone and Laurel Buskirk, editors of an article called “Tattoo, body piercings rules can lead to discrimination claim,” the reason why companies have policies that ban tattoos, piercings and other body modification is to maintain a dress code and other appearance requirements (29A). If tattoos define an employee’s characteristics or personality and can be used as a discussion topic between the employee and customers, then people who have tattoos

A large number of businesses do not allow tattoos that are visible. Many also prohibit piercings, other than single earrings on women. Some industries even take their policies to the extreme of not allowing any tattoos that take up more than 25% of a body part, and if a pre-existing tattoo is too large or obscene, it must be removed (Powers). This even applies if a uniform can easily cover the tattooed area.

In Jon Kelly’s article he brings more information on the stance taken against tattoos in the work place by potential employers. Kelly discusses how employers tend to discriminate

A woman who is a physical therapist has dreadlocks and noticeable tattoos was accepted by her patient despite her contrasting outward appearance. A runway model with a neck tattoo was accepted by the company and the brands she models for. A woman with a prominent clavicle tattoo is seen as no different by the young girls her agency tends to. Although there are cases of the polar opposite where others are discriminated based on the art they have tattooed on their arms or the body modifications they choose. Trebay used the case of Kimberly Cloutier as an example, where Ms. Cloutier wanted to wear her piercings but was denied due to appearance rules at her

Tattoos have been dated back to 5000 BCE. Tattoos have played the role of being badges of honor, ceremonial markings, signs off social rank, forms of punishment, and of course ways for people to beautify themselves (The Cultural History of Tattoos). Over the past years, tattoos has increased and continues to increase significantly in popularity. According to statistics, 36% of American adults in the U.S. between the ages of 18-25 and 40% of American adults in the U.S. between the ages of 26-40 have at least one tattoo (Seth). While the trend of getting tattoos are increasing, the concerns of the employers starts to increase. People who have tattoos should not be discriminated because it is unethical, a form of self-expression, and art.

While tattoos have become more and more acceptable over the years, the question still lies on whether tattoos or any other kind of body modifications in the workplace should be allowed. It's beyond easy to make cases showing the negative impacts of discrimination against tattoos and piercings in the workplace. Plastic surgery, drawing on your eyebrows, getting fake nails, and coloring your hair are also examples of body modifications. Though not everyone agrees with or thinks they’re beautiful, employees are not told to cover up these modifications. Tattoos and piercings are purely another form of beautification and what makes each person their own unique individual. Beauty is personal.

Although numerous tattoos and piercings are offensive, many are not. In the essay “Why Looks Are the Last Bastion of Discrimination” Rhodes quotes that “Individuals with tattoos and body piercings are often viewed as ‘rougher’ or ‘less educated’.” (Rhodes, Deborah par- 3)

Introduction: Is there anyone here that does not like tattoos or likes them, but would never think of getting one? Today, tattoos are a growing in popularity when before tattoos were only seen on people in a circus as an act or on military veterans who wanted to display their troop proudly. Even though there is this growing popularity of tattoos, entry-level jobs require strict dress code policies disapproving the sight of tattoos while at work.

This paper focuses on the subject of whether or not tattoos and piercings should be allowed in the workplace. There are a lot of resources arguing that they should not be allowed, but this research maintains the point that they should be more accepted in the workplace these days. This paper concludes by discussing how tattoos and piercings are much more of an artistic expression rather than a form of rebellion as it was once considered.

There are many employers that have the opinion that having visible tattoos is unacceptable for the professional work environment. Someone with a tattoo is seen as uneducated and possible dangerous. However, there is no solid evidence to support either of those beliefs. The stigma of sporting a visible tattoo has no validity. A person with tattoos is just as knowledgeable and capable of working as a non-tattooed person. Tattoos, whether visible or covered, do not change a person’s individual work ethic or how educated they are.