Written by Philip Nigro.
Photo by Rebecca Silvey and Mark Pederson
TA: Christina McAusland
With the growing desire to modify your appearance with younger adults, tattoos and piercings have become more popular but, are not viewed as being professional.
Over the summer, my co-worker had to cover up a rather large tattoo of his family crest on his arm with an ACE bandage. Something not offensive ended up causing more distractions because everyone wanted to know what was under the bandage.
Being a tattoo and piercing recipient, I have to be careful. If I had not gotten my eyebrow ring ripped out, I would have had to remove it. Getting my new ear piercing was a hard decision because I didn’t want it to affect my chances at a job…but I wanted it.
With tattoos and piercings becoming more recognized and acceptable, what makes them so unprofessional? If not an offensive piece of art, the bearers of tattoos and piercings should be able to display their art work no matter what the setting.
13 comments:
Rock on, tattooed and pierced!
Never really thought of it as a prejudice, but I can see your point.
I remember one of my friends that worked at a grocery store had to cover his cartilage ear piercing up with tape. That is lame, I would find that more distracting then the actual piercing.
It defines one's self character. People should not be judged or discriminated against for their tattoos and piercings.
I think that tattooes are apart of who you are. If someone does not hire you because of that then you do not need that job. There are jobs out there that will look for how well you did your job, not what you look like, and that is type of company you should look for.
Yes Tattoos should not be looked down upon, but you are in the workforce and you represent your company. A company wants someone that will make their company look proffesional not careless.
I work at a grocery store and you are not allowed to have any facial piercings, tongue rings or any visible tatoos. I think this is a good idea in some cases. We have had several employees who like to flash their tongue rings in front of customers which is not professional.
I can see how it could be annoying to the person who has the tattoo, but unfortunately for them it's ( uh-oh death word!!! ) just the way it is ( oops, there IT IS again!) If you know that having a piercing or a tattoo may inhibit your chances of getting a particular job, then don't get one. If you decide to get one anyway, I don't feel one should complain considering they knew what the consequences were beforehand. I don't know about you guys, but I wouldn't want to see my bank teller, financial adviser, server or others professionals providing me their services with piercings all over their face, or tattoos visible. Would you?? I mean really.
I don't care about one's body expression. but I do like extra credit.
I understand that knowing before hand that me having a piercing might affect my chances of getting a job but I should not have to worry about whether a potential boss will just base my work ethic off my appearance before getting to know me as a person. That is the point im trying to make. People should be able to openly express themselves if, like I said, it is in a tasteful manner. I just don't see why having certain body art is automatically labled as being a bad image for your company.
And no. I would not care about my bank teller or financial advisor having visible piercings or tattoos
Yea, I see what you mean Philip. But at the same time, if I hired a lawyer and she showed up in a tank top with her arms covered in tattoos, I might wonder about her qualifications.
You can have tattoes and piercings and still be professional. Obviously (dw -1) any lawyer, banker, or anyone with a professional job are going to dress and conduct themselves in a professional manner.
Tattoos and piercings should be accepted as an expression of your views and beliefs. One of my friends took a year until he let his parents know, so it could just also be opinion of morals.
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