Once upon a time there was a girl waiting in line for the bathroom. She overheard two women talking about a young lady they had recently hired who had a tattoo on her ankle [insert gasp of horror]. This tattoo had been covered up by a pantsuit during the interview and had they known that the young lady possessed one, she would have never been hired.
That was the day the young girl knew she would grow up to get tattoos and prove they were perfectly acceptable for jobs.
Maybe it’s my generation but I don’t understand the fuss over tattoos. They don’t harm anyone. They don’t tell you to jump off of a cliff. They don’t have weapon capabilities. While some individuals don tattoos in order to fit in with the new crowds, [the butterfly tramp stamp of 2000, anyone?] there are the majority who get inked in order to express their memories, experiences and passions with the rest of the world. Tattoos are also incredible ways to share artwork in a new form. Those who get the tattoos for their girl or boyfriends, well, they are the exception.
There should be no need to get in a tizzy over tattoos in the workplace. Unless the F word is splattered all over the arm in yellow ink, it is unnecessary to have a dress code manual that is pages long expressing how to cover up body art. Other than the Corporate America, most industries are relaxing their views. I see more and more companies in the service and fashion industry who are embracing this generation’s passionate trend. Now, it just needs to catch on to journalism…
My mother always tells me to imagine what the men with sleeve tattoos will look like when they are older. Well, I have seen old men with sleeve tattoos, and every time I think, “I bet they were so hot back in the day.”
