Body modification, whether by tattoos, piercings, mutilations or implants have been around for thousands of years, as evidence from the oldest recording of a tattoo on the body of the “famous “Iceman”, a 5,200 year old mummy on through to today's Maori” people (“Tattoos”, Smithsonianmag.com) and every time period in between. They have great cultural significance as art form, a symbol of status, of punishment, as a part of religious beliefs or to identify with a particular culture or group. 42% of adults in America, nearly half the population, have one or more tattoos (“Support Tattoos and Piercings at Work”, Stapaw.com). Even still, there are taboos and stigmas which come with tattoos and certain types of body piercings.
When colonists first came to America, the natives that were considered savages had markings and tattoos, though oddly enough the English upper class had started getting small tattoos themselves. It was during this time that the Natives began to be used and displayed in a fashion similar to circus freak shows. Soon as people saw this, as well as witnessing the English upper class themselves getting their tattoos, the working class in America began getting tattoos as well, with sailors being the first group that started getting tattoos slowly. Tattoos began to be integrated into Western society. But it wasn’t until the tattoo machine was invented in 1891 by Samuel O’Riley that tattoos became more inexpensive and less painful, that tattooing became more relatively widespread (“Socializing Bodies”, Randomhistory.com).
Even after the invention of the tattoo machine, and tattoos and even certain other body modifications began to be more commonplace, the only people that got them openly and relatively widely were prisoners, punks and people in the military, particularly the Navy (Steve Albrecht, psychologytoday.com). Because of the moral character of the people who propagated the popularity of
tattoos in America, a certain stereotype has grown with the popularity of tattoos. Tattoos were associated with bad people of immoral character. The possible exception from this stereotype, in some people’s eyes, was towards those who got their tattoos in the military. Perhaps the stigma of tattoos was forgiven for the soldiers, as their tattoos were symbols of their service or often were obtained to remember friends and brothers they worked and fought alongside.
Through the 70’s and 80’s, tattoos begun to spread to a wider audience and became more mainstream in society. This was due in part to Jerry Colins, who brought a tattoo machine aimed at the middle class into the picture and began to advocate health regulations in tattoo shops. His views went in step with the uprising of the demand for rights of different groups such as gay, women, and peace movements. It was also true that tattoo stylings started being geared towards a more Japanese style and became less masculine. This was also thanks to Collins, who thought the American style was primitive. He thought that the influence of the Japanese would help change tattooing to a more credible art form (“Socializing Bodies”, Randomhistory.com). Even with the rise of tattoos during this time, many still did not approve of it, especially in a workplace environment, white collar or otherwise.
The stigma towards tattoos continues even through today within the Baby Boomer Generation, as the Boomers tend to look upon those with tattoos as people of a lower character. However, the Generation X, Millennials and Generation Z populations tend to be more accepting of tattoos and other forms of body modification. To these later generations, tattoos are a form of art, a way of self-expression. In 2007, around 40% of Generation Y, or Millennials, admitting to having one tattoo, according to a Vault poll (Raewyn Smith, Sundial.csun.edu). Since 2007, the popularity of tattoos has grown another 13% (“Support Tattoos and Piercings at Work”, Stapaw.com). Tattoos are no small part of today’s generation and the number will probably be even higher as Generation Z gets older.
The later generations are slowly forming more of the bulk of society and as the Baby Boomers
are replaced, the amount of people that accept and indeed have different forms of body modification have ensured that tattoos have become less and less of a taboo. However, this doesn’t mean that the amount of discrimination towards those with tattoos and piercings is low or non-existent. As most business owners these days are from the Baby Boomer generation, discrimination is still wide spread. Around 42% of people feel that visible tattoos are always inappropriate at work, while 39% think that visible tattoos and piercing reflect poorly on employers ("Tattoos in the Workplace", Mindvalley.com). So despite the widespread popularity and acceptance of body modification in general, there is an equal amount of opposition towards body modification and those that have them.
Federal law in America protects any form of body modification as a form of self-expression (“Support Tattoos and Piercings at Work”, Stapaw.com) and it is not against any criminal law; however, it is not federally protected in the workplace. It’s comparable to how your have the right to free speech, but if you call your boss a moron, it is totally within their right to fire you. That being said though, it is different in that it still considered discrimination and you cannot deny someone a job or terminate them for having tattoos. This is where dress code for a company comes in. Many companies make it a part of their dress code to say “tattoos are in violation to company policy” or something to this extent or nature. There is no leeway, compromise or confusion. Luckily there are some places where tattoos are accepted to a certain extent. For instance, a certain percentage of the body can be tattooed or even can have visible tattoos as long as they are deemed non-offensive. An interesting fact is that government jobs tend to have the most lenient tattoo policy. This is surprising as many would think they would be the strictest on issues such as tattoos in the work place.
Even today, and with slightly more lenient tattoo policies, those in opposition to body modification believe that those who have them are bad people, uneducated or simply rebellious. There are many instances where people have even denied medical care and treatment because their nurse or
doctor had visible tattoos. But does having tattoos, visible or not, affect work performance? Some say yes, some say no. What is known is that a company that accepts tattoos, visible or not, will have happier employees that will feel good about being able to express themselves. Part of the success of a company is having employees who feel like they are accepted for who they are, instead of having to keep up appearances. It can be draining for one to keep up a role play rather than just being themselves (Margery Weinstein, Trainingmag.com). This being said, it is still acceptable to have a policy of forcing employees to keep up appearances when having to deal directly with more conservatives clients and customers.
There has to be a level of respect between both parties. For instance, an employer has a job interview with a candidate and they see a great resume. The candidate is obviously well qualified for the job. Then they sit down for the interview and the tattoos become apparent. If an employer turns them down for having tattoos alone, they have let go of a potentially great employee. Even if the employer serves a clientele that is heavily conservative, the tattoos do not have to be a problem. The best solution would be one that allows you to take on the new employee in a way that would still allow you to help and serve your clients. The employer could just ask if the candidate they are interviewing if they had any opposition to covering up the tattoos while working directly with customers (Margery Weinstein, Trainingmag.com). The candidate should understand this reasoning and could either accept that they cover up or turn down the job. While not a complete solution to the problem of some individuals having a hard time because they have body modifications, it is a way of being respectful towards those that have tattoos, instead of just turning them down outright.
On the other side of this, the person looking to be hired should know the policy of the company before going into the interview and dress accordingly. They should cover up any tattoos and remove any piercings before going into an interview as this shows respect for your prospective employer (Raewyn
Smith, Sundial.csun.edu). If you are offered a position, they should continue to show respect for the company as their employment progresses. This means being discreet with your tattoos even when you don’t need to be or just covering up completely. It also means taking out any piercing which might be deemed inappropriate while clocked in and working.
The worth of a person should not be based on a person's body image (Raewyn Smith, Sundial.csun.edu). The website Mindvalley actually posted a photography project to tackle and fight the stigma of tattoos ("Tattoos in the Workplace", Mindvalley.com). They photographed their own employees’ tattoos, along with their position in the company and what their tattoos meant to them as the description for the photos. Granted, there were one or two tattoos that the employees admitted they got “just because” and had no real meaning but most of the tattoos had some significant meaning to the employees. Included were people in customer service and production but also people in management and finance. They held many different, important positions in the company but are treated equally, whether or not they had visible tattoo or not.
This is where we should be moving as a society; accept others as individuals and respecting them. As more and more of the population acquire tattoos and piercings, finding an employee that doesn't will become increasingly hard. People should be judged on character and the quality of their work, not on their appearance or whether or not they have body modifications. Until we get to that point, we should at least be respectful, both as employees and employers. Hire someone even if they have a tattoo and ask if they could cover up. Cover up before an interview and after you are hired. Times are changing. There is no harm in accepting someone who just wants to express or decorate themselves.
Works Cited
1. Margery Weinstein. "Do Tattoos Affect Job Performance?" Training Magazine. Trainingmag.com, 1 Aug. 2014. Web. 8 Aug. 2015. <http://www.trainingmag.com/do-tattoos-affect-job-performance>.
This article goes over how, despite the rising popularity, many employers tend to be against tattooed and pierced employees. It tackles that problem by talking about ways to bring it up to the person you are hiring, as well as how more and more people are accepting of tattoos. Another thing to note is that this website is all about giving advice on professional development and noted that while an employee that has to cover up will if they need money, they are probably not feasible as long time employees.
2. Steve Albrecht. "Love Your Work, Hate Your Tattoos and Piercings." Psychology Today. Psychologytoday.com. 8 Nov. 2014. Web. 8 Aug. 2015. <https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-act-violence/201411/love-your-work-hate-your-tattoos-and-piercings>.
This article discusses some of the reasoning behind tattoo and piercing restrictions in the workplace and why it is impractical these days. The author starts by stating that they have several tattoos. After going over the recent history of tattoos, they list several reasons why tattooed workers are usually not hired. They state that, aside from safety issues, like a construction worker with hanging piercings, most reasons don’t really add up due to the rise of those that accept and
have tattoos, including higher ranking employees.
3. Socializing Bodies. “Socializing Bodies: A History of the Tattoo”. Randomhistory.com. 26 July 2008. Web. 10 Aug. 2015. < http://www.randomhistory.com/2008/07/26_tattoo.html>.
This article gives a very detailed description of the history of tattoos in western society. It helped shed light on the history of tattoos in American and how they slowly rose in popularity. Tattoos for first Seen in America with the Native Americans by the First colonists in the 1700’s and didn’t have any huge rises in general society until around the 1970’s which shaped the culture of tattoos in America today. I will be using this article to highlight some of this history.
4. "Support Tattoos and Piercings at Work." Support Tattoos and Piercings at Work. Stapaw.com. Web. 8 Aug. 2015. <http://www.stapaw.com/#!tattoos-in-the-workplace-statistics/c1490>.
This page provides statistics about tattoos, piercings and their relation to the workplace. It starts with percentage of different groups that have tattoos then moves on to statistics about discrimination in the workplace. It also indicates which occupations have the highest percentage of tattooed employees. Most of the statics used in the paper will come from this source.
5. Cate Lineberry. "Tattoos." Smithsonian. Smithsonianmag.com. 1 Jan. 2007. Web. 10 Aug. 2015. <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/tattoos-144038580/?no-ist>.
The Smithsonian is always a credible source when it comes to history of any kind. This page summarized the history of tattoos around the world. It noted the oldest recording of a tattoo and other notable cultures that had tattoos in them such as the Maori and Egyptians. The purposes of tattoos in different cultures was explained as well. I used this page to show how long the art and
culture of tattooing has been around.
6. Raewyn Smith. "Tattoos and Piercings Should Be Respected in the Work Place." The Sundial. Sundial.csun.edu, 2 May 2012. Web. 8 Aug. 2015. <http://sundial.csun.edu/2012/05/tattoos-and-piercings-should-be-respected-in-the-work-place/>.
This article, like some of the others, goes over tattoo acceptance and discrimination. But unlike many other articles, it also discusses the respect both the employee and employer must have regarding tattoos. The author talk about how he generally covers up any exposed tattoos as he serves customer. He ends on saying that while tattoos are becoming more and more acceptable and they are ways to express one’s opinion, it’s better to be respectful about company policy by covering tattoos and removing piercings instead of trying to change or challenge the policy too much.
7. "Tattoos in the Workplace: Using Photography To Tackle Outdated Beliefs - Mindvalley Blog." Mindvalley Blog. Mindvalley.com, 20 Mar. 2015. Web. 8 Aug. 2015. <http://www.mindvalley.com/blog/social/tattoos-in-the-workplace/>.
This web page is interestingly different in that it’s less of an article and more of a photo album. While the pictures won’t be used, the source presents an interesting message. The images on this page are used to challenge the stereotypical ideas of who has tattoos and what tattoos typically are and mean. It’s used as a way to tackle the tattoo discrimination in the work place.
When colonists first came to America, the natives that were considered savages had markings and tattoos, though oddly enough the English upper class had started getting small tattoos themselves. It was during this time that the Natives began to be used and displayed in a fashion similar to circus freak shows. Soon as people saw this, as well as witnessing the English upper class themselves getting their tattoos, the working class in America began getting tattoos as well, with sailors being the first group that started getting tattoos slowly. Tattoos began to be integrated into Western society. But it wasn’t until the tattoo machine was invented in 1891 by Samuel O’Riley that tattoos became more inexpensive and less painful, that tattooing became more relatively widespread (“Socializing Bodies”, Randomhistory.com).
Even after the invention of the tattoo machine, and tattoos and even certain other body modifications began to be more commonplace, the only people that got them openly and relatively widely were prisoners, punks and people in the military, particularly the Navy (Steve Albrecht, psychologytoday.com). Because of the moral character of the people who propagated the popularity of
tattoos in America, a certain stereotype has grown with the popularity of tattoos. Tattoos were associated with bad people of immoral character. The possible exception from this stereotype, in some people’s eyes, was towards those who got their tattoos in the military. Perhaps the stigma of tattoos was forgiven for the soldiers, as their tattoos were symbols of their service or often were obtained to remember friends and brothers they worked and fought alongside.
Through the 70’s and 80’s, tattoos begun to spread to a wider audience and became more mainstream in society. This was due in part to Jerry Colins, who brought a tattoo machine aimed at the middle class into the picture and began to advocate health regulations in tattoo shops. His views went in step with the uprising of the demand for rights of different groups such as gay, women, and peace movements. It was also true that tattoo stylings started being geared towards a more Japanese style and became less masculine. This was also thanks to Collins, who thought the American style was primitive. He thought that the influence of the Japanese would help change tattooing to a more credible art form (“Socializing Bodies”, Randomhistory.com). Even with the rise of tattoos during this time, many still did not approve of it, especially in a workplace environment, white collar or otherwise.
The stigma towards tattoos continues even through today within the Baby Boomer Generation, as the Boomers tend to look upon those with tattoos as people of a lower character. However, the Generation X, Millennials and Generation Z populations tend to be more accepting of tattoos and other forms of body modification. To these later generations, tattoos are a form of art, a way of self-expression. In 2007, around 40% of Generation Y, or Millennials, admitting to having one tattoo, according to a Vault poll (Raewyn Smith, Sundial.csun.edu). Since 2007, the popularity of tattoos has grown another 13% (“Support Tattoos and Piercings at Work”, Stapaw.com). Tattoos are no small part of today’s generation and the number will probably be even higher as Generation Z gets older.
The later generations are slowly forming more of the bulk of society and as the Baby Boomers
are replaced, the amount of people that accept and indeed have different forms of body modification have ensured that tattoos have become less and less of a taboo. However, this doesn’t mean that the amount of discrimination towards those with tattoos and piercings is low or non-existent. As most business owners these days are from the Baby Boomer generation, discrimination is still wide spread. Around 42% of people feel that visible tattoos are always inappropriate at work, while 39% think that visible tattoos and piercing reflect poorly on employers ("Tattoos in the Workplace", Mindvalley.com). So despite the widespread popularity and acceptance of body modification in general, there is an equal amount of opposition towards body modification and those that have them.
Federal law in America protects any form of body modification as a form of self-expression (“Support Tattoos and Piercings at Work”, Stapaw.com) and it is not against any criminal law; however, it is not federally protected in the workplace. It’s comparable to how your have the right to free speech, but if you call your boss a moron, it is totally within their right to fire you. That being said though, it is different in that it still considered discrimination and you cannot deny someone a job or terminate them for having tattoos. This is where dress code for a company comes in. Many companies make it a part of their dress code to say “tattoos are in violation to company policy” or something to this extent or nature. There is no leeway, compromise or confusion. Luckily there are some places where tattoos are accepted to a certain extent. For instance, a certain percentage of the body can be tattooed or even can have visible tattoos as long as they are deemed non-offensive. An interesting fact is that government jobs tend to have the most lenient tattoo policy. This is surprising as many would think they would be the strictest on issues such as tattoos in the work place.
Even today, and with slightly more lenient tattoo policies, those in opposition to body modification believe that those who have them are bad people, uneducated or simply rebellious. There are many instances where people have even denied medical care and treatment because their nurse or
doctor had visible tattoos. But does having tattoos, visible or not, affect work performance? Some say yes, some say no. What is known is that a company that accepts tattoos, visible or not, will have happier employees that will feel good about being able to express themselves. Part of the success of a company is having employees who feel like they are accepted for who they are, instead of having to keep up appearances. It can be draining for one to keep up a role play rather than just being themselves (Margery Weinstein, Trainingmag.com). This being said, it is still acceptable to have a policy of forcing employees to keep up appearances when having to deal directly with more conservatives clients and customers.
There has to be a level of respect between both parties. For instance, an employer has a job interview with a candidate and they see a great resume. The candidate is obviously well qualified for the job. Then they sit down for the interview and the tattoos become apparent. If an employer turns them down for having tattoos alone, they have let go of a potentially great employee. Even if the employer serves a clientele that is heavily conservative, the tattoos do not have to be a problem. The best solution would be one that allows you to take on the new employee in a way that would still allow you to help and serve your clients. The employer could just ask if the candidate they are interviewing if they had any opposition to covering up the tattoos while working directly with customers (Margery Weinstein, Trainingmag.com). The candidate should understand this reasoning and could either accept that they cover up or turn down the job. While not a complete solution to the problem of some individuals having a hard time because they have body modifications, it is a way of being respectful towards those that have tattoos, instead of just turning them down outright.
On the other side of this, the person looking to be hired should know the policy of the company before going into the interview and dress accordingly. They should cover up any tattoos and remove any piercings before going into an interview as this shows respect for your prospective employer (Raewyn
Smith, Sundial.csun.edu). If you are offered a position, they should continue to show respect for the company as their employment progresses. This means being discreet with your tattoos even when you don’t need to be or just covering up completely. It also means taking out any piercing which might be deemed inappropriate while clocked in and working.
The worth of a person should not be based on a person's body image (Raewyn Smith, Sundial.csun.edu). The website Mindvalley actually posted a photography project to tackle and fight the stigma of tattoos ("Tattoos in the Workplace", Mindvalley.com). They photographed their own employees’ tattoos, along with their position in the company and what their tattoos meant to them as the description for the photos. Granted, there were one or two tattoos that the employees admitted they got “just because” and had no real meaning but most of the tattoos had some significant meaning to the employees. Included were people in customer service and production but also people in management and finance. They held many different, important positions in the company but are treated equally, whether or not they had visible tattoo or not.
This is where we should be moving as a society; accept others as individuals and respecting them. As more and more of the population acquire tattoos and piercings, finding an employee that doesn't will become increasingly hard. People should be judged on character and the quality of their work, not on their appearance or whether or not they have body modifications. Until we get to that point, we should at least be respectful, both as employees and employers. Hire someone even if they have a tattoo and ask if they could cover up. Cover up before an interview and after you are hired. Times are changing. There is no harm in accepting someone who just wants to express or decorate themselves.
Works Cited
1. Margery Weinstein. "Do Tattoos Affect Job Performance?" Training Magazine. Trainingmag.com, 1 Aug. 2014. Web. 8 Aug. 2015. <http://www.trainingmag.com/do-tattoos-affect-job-performance>.
This article goes over how, despite the rising popularity, many employers tend to be against tattooed and pierced employees. It tackles that problem by talking about ways to bring it up to the person you are hiring, as well as how more and more people are accepting of tattoos. Another thing to note is that this website is all about giving advice on professional development and noted that while an employee that has to cover up will if they need money, they are probably not feasible as long time employees.
2. Steve Albrecht. "Love Your Work, Hate Your Tattoos and Piercings." Psychology Today. Psychologytoday.com. 8 Nov. 2014. Web. 8 Aug. 2015. <https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-act-violence/201411/love-your-work-hate-your-tattoos-and-piercings>.
This article discusses some of the reasoning behind tattoo and piercing restrictions in the workplace and why it is impractical these days. The author starts by stating that they have several tattoos. After going over the recent history of tattoos, they list several reasons why tattooed workers are usually not hired. They state that, aside from safety issues, like a construction worker with hanging piercings, most reasons don’t really add up due to the rise of those that accept and
have tattoos, including higher ranking employees.
3. Socializing Bodies. “Socializing Bodies: A History of the Tattoo”. Randomhistory.com. 26 July 2008. Web. 10 Aug. 2015. < http://www.randomhistory.com/2008/07/26_tattoo.html>.
This article gives a very detailed description of the history of tattoos in western society. It helped shed light on the history of tattoos in American and how they slowly rose in popularity. Tattoos for first Seen in America with the Native Americans by the First colonists in the 1700’s and didn’t have any huge rises in general society until around the 1970’s which shaped the culture of tattoos in America today. I will be using this article to highlight some of this history.
4. "Support Tattoos and Piercings at Work." Support Tattoos and Piercings at Work. Stapaw.com. Web. 8 Aug. 2015. <http://www.stapaw.com/#!tattoos-in-the-workplace-statistics/c1490>.
This page provides statistics about tattoos, piercings and their relation to the workplace. It starts with percentage of different groups that have tattoos then moves on to statistics about discrimination in the workplace. It also indicates which occupations have the highest percentage of tattooed employees. Most of the statics used in the paper will come from this source.
5. Cate Lineberry. "Tattoos." Smithsonian. Smithsonianmag.com. 1 Jan. 2007. Web. 10 Aug. 2015. <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/tattoos-144038580/?no-ist>.
The Smithsonian is always a credible source when it comes to history of any kind. This page summarized the history of tattoos around the world. It noted the oldest recording of a tattoo and other notable cultures that had tattoos in them such as the Maori and Egyptians. The purposes of tattoos in different cultures was explained as well. I used this page to show how long the art and
culture of tattooing has been around.
6. Raewyn Smith. "Tattoos and Piercings Should Be Respected in the Work Place." The Sundial. Sundial.csun.edu, 2 May 2012. Web. 8 Aug. 2015. <http://sundial.csun.edu/2012/05/tattoos-and-piercings-should-be-respected-in-the-work-place/>.
This article, like some of the others, goes over tattoo acceptance and discrimination. But unlike many other articles, it also discusses the respect both the employee and employer must have regarding tattoos. The author talk about how he generally covers up any exposed tattoos as he serves customer. He ends on saying that while tattoos are becoming more and more acceptable and they are ways to express one’s opinion, it’s better to be respectful about company policy by covering tattoos and removing piercings instead of trying to change or challenge the policy too much.
7. "Tattoos in the Workplace: Using Photography To Tackle Outdated Beliefs - Mindvalley Blog." Mindvalley Blog. Mindvalley.com, 20 Mar. 2015. Web. 8 Aug. 2015. <http://www.mindvalley.com/blog/social/tattoos-in-the-workplace/>.
This web page is interestingly different in that it’s less of an article and more of a photo album. While the pictures won’t be used, the source presents an interesting message. The images on this page are used to challenge the stereotypical ideas of who has tattoos and what tattoos typically are and mean. It’s used as a way to tackle the tattoo discrimination in the work place.