Body piercing, tattoos and business stigmas

Written by Michael Vass

22 years ago, outside of 29 Palms – a Marine Corps based in the desert, I got my first tattoo. Today I have 4. I don’t have any body piercings though I have often considered a couple of options. Unless you count the ear piercing that I got years ago and occasionally still use.

When I got my first tattoo only military personnel and convicts generally had tattoos. Ear piercings were not totally uncommon, among college students and a few die-hard Navy members (an ear piercing was meant to signify that a sailor had traveled the 7 seas, each additional earring represented an extra trip of 7). Still it was viewed as an oddity to have either, and many a job could be lost if anyone could notice either. The same thing was a problem when I returned to the East Coast in 1995 with my hair braided.

Today 40 percent of those between 26 and 40 have a tattoo and/or body piercing. 36% of those under 25 also have one or both of the body art options. And still it’s possible to lose a job because of the individual choice to enhance their body.

Now I understand that a doctor with multiple facial piercings might be problematic in say surgery. I can understand how body piercings might affect work with heavy machinery or construction. But I don’t understand how this affects researching which stock is best for an investor, or how it prevents a lawyer from quoting applicable law for or against a defendant. It’s the same argument I was faced with when I was a stockbroker and decided to get my cornrows back in.

The owners of the firm were aghast; they feared all my clients would abandon me. That somehow I would run clients and brokers from the office. Mind you that I was the only Black broker in the firm and had been there for 3 years at that point.

I put in the cornrows and not a single client or broker left the firm. Not a single client of mine complained – though a few did make comments (positive and negative) to me directly. The world did not end, and business went on as usual. And not a single person was worried about my 4 tattoos – if they knew I had them.

I say all this because of an article I noticed at The Orion - Sweet body art can affect job offers

In this article it notes that college students going off to start their careers or just get jobs should seriously consider the effect that their body art might have. Far too many businesses still have a problem with hair styles, tattoos and body art. Which is insane.

Yes a person with tattoos covering their body might mean they are obsessive-compulsive, or they could just be Samoan. Yes a facial body piercing might be different unless you might happen to be from or know about India. In a world, and more importantly a nation, where cultures from everywhere interact everyday how can we still hold onto values that are solidly defined by the values of the racist, segregationist 1950’s?

My tattoos have meaning to me. My hair style is an expression of my self-image and at times heritage. Piercings are equally as sentimental and as much an expression.

Hearing that such diversity is still burdened by the stigmas of a part of America that was the most repressed and ignorant is saddening. Yes the younger generation of America should keep a thought to what businesses demand today, but they should also keep an eye to when they own and manage their own businesses. Stigmas only exist as long as we give them power. We are now in the 21st century, I think it’s time we let the stigmas of the 50’s die the death they deserve.

What’s the big deal about body piercings?

Written by Michael Vass

Time and again I have read about the horrors of body piercing. The stories warning people tend to come out most during the summer months. I suppose that this is the time that most vanilla types (normal non-pierced people) notice piercing the most.

But the hype is really way over the top. There are millions of people with piercings, and they range from business owners to the kid on the skateboard down the block. While those who are younger tend to be flashier with their piercing don’t believe this is only a young kid’s fad. I have known lots of friends that go to the office, proudly knowing that their piercing will never be notice except by the most perceptive of people.

But what I’d really like to know is this. Why are so many people offended or fearful of piercing? It’s not the people with piercing (or tattoos for that matter) that tend to write most of the stories or spreading rumors of horror and pain. And I notice that people without these body enhancements are the most concerned about them.

Since a piercing or tattoo on one person has nothing to do with anyone else, where does the concern come from?

Keep Body Piercings in a Private Place

When I used to work in the land of $5,000 suits and $100 ties, I had a boss who admittedly had several tattoos. One day he was talking about it and had this to say. I never got any tattoos on my hand or my forearms and tended to keep them in areas such as my bicep where nobody could see them. That was good advice and I didn’t forget it.

It is estimated that 36% of all Americans between the ages of 18-25 have at least one tattoo. Tattoos are to an employer what long hair was in the seventies and spiked hair was in the eighties. If you want to put that hundred thousand dollar college education to use, I would plan carefully where you place your piercings and your tattoos.

It would stink if that tatoo or body piercing ruined your chance of a dream job. One recruiter had this to say, “Remove all safety pins before interviewing.” It’s funny but it’s also good advice.