Tattoos and Piercings

By Dayanne Garcia on September 12, 2013

I’ve always been interested in tattoos and piercings but all I’ve heard growing up was “tattoos and piercings will ruin your career. Don’t ever get them!” I don’t even think I can count the number of times I’ve heard that.

 I currently don’t have any tattoos anywhere on my body but I have visible piercings on my face and body. When I was eighteen years old I begged my mother to let me get my nose pierced. After a couple of hours she agreed because it was something she wanted to have at my age but could not due to her parents. My mother looks down on tattoos because her father frowned upon anyone who had visible tattoos or piercings. He always told us that only animals get branded, a very close-minded statement. For that reason, I am not allowed to get a tattoo even though I’m almost 20 years old. Like many others, I don’t consider tattoos “branding”. In fact, I consider tattoos and piercings to be art that are permanently (or sometimes temporarily) located on a person’s body. After all, an artist spends hours working on his piece of art. When done properly, tattoos and piercings have the ability to enhance the body.

I’ve always heard but never believed similar stories about a candidate applying for a job but not being employed because he had visible tattoos. I didn’t think they would actually impair people from persevering in their careers until recently. My boyfriend’s dad is in charge of hiring new lawyers at a law firm. He talked to us about two well-qualified candidates being interviewed for the same position at his law firm. He liked candidate A more than candidate B but there was a big problem, candidate A had visible tattoos. He told us that having visible tattoos did not go well with the image of a lawyer at that law firm. He asked us if we would hand over our lives to someone with tattoos. As a Legal Studies Student with visible piercings this shocked me Simple answer: why not? After all, who are we to judge these people for their tattoos?

Are tattoos so vile that they impair someone from obtaining the position of their dreams? Tattoos have a negative connotation. They are associated with “bad” people such as criminals or irresponsible adults. Just judging by his description, candidate A appeared to be responsible and in my opinion, far more qualified than candidate B. This man had no criminal record, graduated from a great law school and fit the position but he wasn’t hired because he didn’t “fit” the image of a lawyer. What is the image of a lawyer? I have facial and body piercings that are visible when my hair is up, I’m in a bathing suit and when my studs are in. Does that mean I don’t fit the image of the job I’m spending 7 years in school for?

Tattoos and piercings have had a negative connotation for a long time. It excites me to more young adults “branding” their bodies with meaningful artwork. Most of these tattoos aren’t obtained in a negative manner. They have deep, personal meanings. These pieces of art are tributes to loved ones, places or events people have experienced. Criminals without tattoos who have committed far worse crimes are out in the real world but we don’t give them a second glance as we judge those who do. Remember this before judging someone with tattoos.

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