Ink and prejudice

Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve been awestruck by tattoos. I don’t know why, I don’t know how, I just know I immediately considered someone 100% cooler if I could find some ink somewhere on their skin. It might have been Wentworth Miller in Prison Break, it might have been Angelina Jolie in Wanted, it might have been just David Beckham in general. I honestly don’t know. What I do know is that I am absolutely in love with this beautiful form of self-expression. But not everyone is, apparently.

Now almost a year ago, I was negotiating with my parents about getting my first tattoo. Had I thought about it enough? Why did I want one? Did it mean anything? Where would I want it on my body? Was I really absolutely one hundred percent super certain that I wanted to permanently maim myself with a needle? Yes, mom, thank you very much. At last, they let me. Or, ‘let me’ might be a little too optimistic. It was more along the lines of “well, you’re legally an adult, so it’s not like we can stop you.”

So I did my research (always do your research, kids!) and I decided I wanted an arrow on my right side at breast height (that might be a story for another time). Which was, by the way, a huge relief for my parents, because they didn’t have to see it and tend to forget it’s even there. And also, apparently, because possible future employers won’t be able to see it. While I understand what my parents were telling me, I’m still not over the fact that that’s actually the way things go. I am studying journalism, so I’d like to write for a paper or magazine later. Can you imagine that someone would choose not to hire me, because apparently those 10 centimeters of ink under my shirt mean that my writing skills are not good enough? A girl I know likes to experiment with her hair color, and decided to dye it blue. She was told to dye it back the way it was, or get fired. This has little to do with tattoos, but it’s the same principle. Appearance seems to be more important than competence. “Unprofessional” is the term they used. I consider this particularly ironic. I’d say that choosing whether or not you hire someone based on their appearance instead of based on their competence just seems a tad unprofessional to me. But that might just be me. Just because my tattoo is not visible, doesn’t mean it’s not there. And just because it’s there, doesn’t mean I’m somehow less competent.

This doesn’t mean I don’t understand the associations that are made based on tattoos. When the baby boomers were parents and Generation X was growing up, people who were mostly associated with tattoos were criminals, sailors, bikers and gang members. Not the kind of crowd you want your kids to hang out with, I get it. But, the kinds of people who like tattoos have changed wildly. People covered head to toe in body art are famous sports players, actors, artists, celebrities and all kinds of other people who just want to claim their body as their own. I don’t see anyone saying David Beckham’s ball bending magic is less great since he got inked. If those people from older generations can somehow make the shift from handwritten letters to emails sent via smartphone, I would be inclined to say it can’t be too difficult to reconsider their point of view regarding what people choose to put on their own bodies. Which is another point I don’t understand. You are not hurting anyone by having tattoos? Why is anybody complaining? Like, I don’t like the color pink, but I’m not shitting all over you for wearing a pink blouse, now am I, Susan?

Luckily for everyone involved, the generation that for some reason decided that body art equals unprofessionalism, is slowly dying out. By the time most people around my age will have graduated, future employers might be less predisposed to send someone away based on a flower inked onto their wrist or even a full-sleeve tattoo dedicated to some obscure comic book character. Because a tattoo doesn’t have to mean anything. Maybe they liked the way it looked, maybe they got it after thinking about it for half their life, maybe it’s none of your business. And just because a tattoo has meaning to someone, doesn’t mean they are obligated to tell you about it. If something means enough to you to let it be permanently inked on your skin, it’s probably a little personal. If you ask about it, be prepared for an answer that gets real deep, real fast. That doesn’t mean you can’t be the best choice for the position of CEO in an accountancy company. That doesn’t mean you are not good at what you do. Your looks have nothing to do with your skill set, and it brings me joy that a lot of people are finally starting to get it.

As an end note, I don’t mean to imply you have to like tattoos. If you don’t want one, don’t get one. Simple as that. Just do me a favor and don’t force your opinion on people who have/want one. As it has been put so eloquently before: the only difference between tattooed people and non-tattooed people is tattooed people don’t care if you’re not tattooed.