Body Modification has been a trending topic in the past few decades. There has been a significant elevation in the number of people who have tattoos, piercings, and other forms of ‘unusual’ modifications. However, the negative stigma associated with these forms of art has yet to fade. For centuries society has associated tattoos and piercings with acts of rebellion, law breaking, aggressive behavior, and even extreme violence in many cases. “Sailors branded themselves to display conquests and experiences out at sea while inmates used modification to show affiliation with gangs, mobs, and to express ranking within an organization (Demello, 1993; Sanders, 2008)” (Hill). This connection that people seem to make regarding people with tattoos is completely fabricated. This train of thought can do serious harm to society, rather than ‘protect’ society from the individuals who partake in this activity. People with these modifications are discriminated against in everyday situations and evidence of body art has been shown to hinder future employment opportunities. Many aspiring tattoo artists also aspire to do something beyond body art. However, these people are limited in the types of professions they can acquire simply because the profession they want does not allow any visible “imperfections”. For example a tattoo artist who is covered in their own work may want to pursue a career in education. Family members and friends will tell them that there are plenty of teachers with tattoos and piercings beyond the usual pierced ear in today’s education system. But how many Kindergarten teachers are there with a full sleeve and gauges the size of quarters in their ears?  There are dozens maybe even hundreds of people in the world who are qualified for this type of job but have been denied the opportunity to teach young children because of their imperfections. Individuals with body modifications are often discriminated against when it comes to job opportunities, even more so when the applicants are women. This is a social injustice and should not be tolerated, instead body modification should be seen as a form of self-expression and should be protected. 

Should body modification spark such a large controversy in the workplace? Nowadays you can’t walk down the street without seeing someone with a piercing, a tattoo, gauges, or something that is labeled as body modification. However, when you enter a business you hardly see employees with body art. Many establishments require employees to cover up the “imperfections” on their skin and remove all piercings or abnormalities before coming to work. There are some employers who won’t even hire an eligible candidate because they have visible body modifications. There are people who say that this is completely fabricated, and that the applicants must have been unqualified for the position they had applied for. A study conducted in early 2014 had explored the prejudice of tattoos and how having a visible tattoo affected someone chances of receiving a job. The study was based solely of twenty-five interviews with hiring managers and prospective employees, both with and without tattoos. As the study went along they found that there were three different factors that played into whether a candidate with visible tattoos got the job. These include the amount of time spent with customers, what type of job it is, and what the tattoo means or is associated with. Typically, people with visible or facial tattoos that were offensive or had a negative connotation either worked in warehouses or the back of stores, far away from customers. People with smaller, non-offensive tattoos were people who worked at banks or as secretaries where their physical contact with people was kept at a minimum. Both types of people reported having issues receiving a job based on their body art. “More visible tattoos elicited greater levels of prejudice than subtler ones that could be more readily concealed through body positioning during a job interview or, indeed, when interacting with customers” (Timming).  There seemed to be a running theme of building a brand in this study. Employers are more concerned with what their customers want than what is right but insist that their decision to employ someone is not based on their body art. Other people simply admit that tattoos eliminate candidates from receiving a job at their company. “Mick, the manager of a bookshop, was adamant that: I certainly wouldn’t employ someone [with visible tattoos] if they came in for an interview. It would not necessarily be the only reason that I wouldn’t employ them, but certainly it would be one of the reasons and subconsciously that would stop me from employing them. I’m not offering them a position if I had one” (Timming). “Although the study confirmed that hiring managers were a source of prejudice against visible tattoos, it was found that these prejudices were driven largely by imputed stereotypes about consumer expectations (Dean, 2010)” (Timming). 

Although the issue of discrimination in the workplace based on body modification is relevant to both men and women, women are criticized more often for their tattoos. The book Covered in ink: tattoos, women, and the politics of the body, was written by Beverly Thompson and explores the social stigma women with tattoos face. In the first few chapters of the book, Thompson reminds the reader of societies preconceived notion of what a beautiful woman is. How women are supposed to be ‘clean’, dainty, gentle human beings. Anyone who does not fit this mold or defies the mold by ‘letting themselves go’ or pursuing alternative body projects is subject to social sanctions. She writes about the difference between being “lightly tattooed” and “heavily tattooed”. Being lightly tattooed means having a flower or some type of cuddly animal sketched into the skin because these types of tattoos are somewhat acceptable for women. Heavily tattooed women are often associated with the ‘biker woman’ who sits in bars downing shots with the boys and rides a tricked-out Harley. One of the most prominent themes of the book is the change that happens when women decide to get an “unfeminine” tattoo. “While men can collect many tattoos, which serve to strengthen their masculine identity, women’s tattoo collections can threaten their feminine identity-unless they specifically choose feminine tattoos” (Thompson). After receiving her fifth tattoo Thompson explains how as a woman she had to face the realization that she was now a heavily tattooed woman. When coming to that realization she stated; “Now I have really crossed the line for appropriate tattoos for women” (Thompson). Women are raised to be dainty creatures of society and in these changing times they have been given the opportunity to defy the damsel in distress stereotype. “Perhaps for some women having tattoos is an act of rebellion against conforming to appearance norms, appreciating their own bodies in unique ways” (Hill). Many women feel like their tattoos give them power and a sense of independence while also saying that they feel judged for their body art. In grocery stores people would walk up to her and ask her why she would ruin her perfect body or think she was less of a woman. Also because she was a heavily tattooed women people automatically assumed she was a bad mother or that she was too strict. Everywhere she went people would stop and stare at her, making comments on her tattoos and judging her choice to modify her body. She shares her experience in the classroom setting as well by saying “In my graduate classes, if I exposed my tattoos, I felt that my professors were judging me” (Thompson). Thompson also describes the workplace and the negative vibes that come from fellow employees. “When tattoo collectors begin to modify their bodies with tattoo art, social relationships are transformed as well: Family members may scoff, employment opportunities shrink, and strangers may stare” (Thompson).  

The difference between the amount of prejudice men and women who are heavily tattooed face is defined by a very blurry line. Both genders face many of the same issues, judgment by friends, family, and everyday people is unavoidable. Both genders receive the dirty looks and annoying question like “did it hurt?” or “what does it mean”. Although both genders deal with many of the same issues men seem to have an easier time adjusting to tattooed life than women. Stefan Getty is a tattoo artists who decided to participate in a YouTube film about the male handbook to tattooing. In this short film, Stefan talks about what other people say about his tattoos and what he thinks of them. Stefan described his severe dislike of meeting girl’s parents. He says that most parents tell their girls that if they’re going to bring a man home don’t let it be the guy will all the tattoos. “When they see me they’re like oh God all our worst nightmares have come true” (Getty). Stefan believes his tattoos are memories, thing that he will have when he’s fifty or sixty years old and will be with him until the end. He compares them to Facebook timelines saying “people post things on there and I post them on my body” (Getty). When he had his eyelids tattooed he said he believed he had only one job in the world and it was to be a tattoo artist. “Giving somebody a tattoo is monumental, it’s the last thing they’ll have with them until the end” (Getty).  Stefan even explains how his family has reacted negatively to his tattoos. When he came home to his mother with two swollen eyes from tattooing his mother had ‘freaked out’. She explained her sorrow in his decision by saying that he “came into the world without any tattoos, that he was hers, and that he had defiled what was hers” (Getty). Getty said he didn’t resent his mother for her comments and that he had always seen himself tattooed and eventually his mother got over it and now Getty is extremely comfortable showing off his tattoos. “I’s walk through the town naked if I could just to show them off” (Getty). Being a man who is heavily tattooed, it is easier to adjust to that type of lifestyle or that type of “brand” because for men tattoos are sexy. A man with tattoos is handsome, adventurous, and all those other bad boy traits that women seem to fall in love with. For a woman, however, it can be harder to adjust to that type of lifestyle because of the physical expectations that society places on girls and women.

Women who have tattoos report feeling powerful and in control of their own bodies. “The act of body modification may be reinforced by the positive reactions individuals receive after copying the behavior (e.g. obtaining a tattoo), which then evokes feelings of pride and identity” (Hill). While many women feel like this, there are also women who say that while they love their tattoos the judgment they face when their tattoos are present creates some self-esteem issues. A study done at Texas State University compared men and women who were and were not tattooed. They shared experiences about their journey and their views on tattoos and then were given the Rosenberg Self-Esteem test. The conclusion revealed that “Females were significantly more likely than males to have both tattoos and facial piercings (other than ears)” (Hill). It is also revealed that “Females overall had lower scores than males on the Body Appreciation Scale and on the Rosenberg Self-Esteem measure” (Hill). In the end, the study concluded that although women may be the first to get a tattoo they may also be the first to hide it in attempt to shield themselves from the judgmental stares and annoying questions strangers ask. People who are against tattoos seem to have the habit of asking individuals why they got their tattoos. “Popular reasons for getting tattooed include self-expression and representations of bonds/connections with friends or family (Dickson, Dukes, Smith, & Strapko, 2015; King & Vidourek, 2013)” (Hill).  Many people believe their tattoos are stories about themselves that they carry with them forever. Although to many this is a reasonable answer there are individuals who disagree. Juan Henao is one of these critics saying that while most tattoos are beautiful representations of people, he doesn’t understand why people are so keen on getting them. “I’ve started to wonder whether people are taking into consideration the eternalness of a tattoo, and whether the whole idea of getting a tattoo is even worth it” (Henao). Henao believes that people in this generation do not focus on the fact that tattoos are permanent and that in 10 years it is unlikely someone with a tattoo will feel the exact same way about it. In those cases, many people say they will just remove the tattoo with laser surgery without thinking about the cost of the tattoo removal. “What was the whole point in the first place, was it really worth it?” (Henao). Henao also believes that tattoos are extremely unprofessional and although it isn’t right, having tattoos will lead to judgment and even discrimination in the workplace. “I know it’s bad to judge a book by its cover, but I think that our first instinct is to do so. I do believe that when you go into a job interview or something of the sort, they will judge you for having a tattoo, and though it’s unfair because you might be qualified, the stigma with having tattoos is undoubtedly present in our culture” (Henao). He acknowledges the “I’ll just cover it up” solution to this problem as well saying” if you are willing to have something be a part of you, are you really willing to hide it? Shouldn’t you be proud of it, or at least not be too embarrassed to cover it up?” (Henao). 

While Mr. Henao make some interesting points, it doesn’t justify the discrimination people with body modification must deal with in the workplace. Tattoos are expression of oneself, pieces of someone’s heritage, history, culture, and personality. Tattoos are a form of speech that should be protected. Some would even go as far as to say that discrimination based on tattoos should be illegal. “The First Amendment entitles freedom of speech to every American citizen. Tattoos and piercings are a way of expressing one’s own beliefs, thoughts, and feelings. Therefore, people with tattoos should be protected under the First Amendment” (Body Art). The article, Body Art Discrimination: Violation of First Amendment? - Ethics Alerts, explains how humans are paid to do work by their bosses but their bosses do not own them. Outside of the office the employer has no right to tell an employee what to do, wear, or how to act. People shouldn’t have to fear losing their job because they made the decision to get a tattoo or piercing. The right to decorate the human body resides with the owner of said body and the presence of body modification should not be a determining factor in whether or not someone receives employment. Laws need to be made in order for this injustice to come to an end. 
