I was listening to the most recent Judge John Hodgman podcast at work today, and the case in question was about tattoos. Specifically, a man wanted to stop his girlfriend from getting a tattoo on her wrist because he believed that visible "public" tattoos would hurt her career. The design she described sounded lovely (it was a wild tree, bare of leaves, in a national park in Australia, her home country) and it was very meaningful for her. As for her decision to go with the wrist, to her, it was simple...she had two other tattoos, but they were covered, and she wanted one that she could see. As a volunteer coordinator in the not-for-profit sector with no ambitions to cash in by going private sector, she was certain that this tasteful, artistic tattoo would not cause her problems or hurt her career.
And as far as I'm concerned, she's absolutely right. I have my tattoos, which technically aren't public skin, but they are located in places that are quite visible: Winnie the Pooh is on my ankle, and I wear a lot of dresses and skirts, so there's no hiding that one, and I have a small glyph on the back of my neck, which is displayed almost daily because I wear my hair up all the time. I would like my next tattoo to be on my foot, but when I tried to make it happen in Vancouver, I was turned away because of corporate policy against tattooing public skin. The woman at the studio told me I could ruin my chances of getting bank loans or good jobs if I had "visible" tattoos, and all I could think was 'Fuck you, lady, and your bullshit about societal expectations.'
The thing is, I've never wanted a mortgage, and honestly, I'm a damn good policy analyst, you hire me for my skills, experience, and ability to provide sound policy advice based on evidence and research...if you don't hire me because I have some tasteful ink in plain sight, well, that's not a place I would do well in anyway.
Honestly, I believe that North American society is changing (albeit slowly), and there is new thinking about tattoos, which are becoming more common. Old preconceptions are slowly giving way, and Badassery is no longer the sole domain for tattoos. All three of my mother's children are inked, and last time I checked, my sister was able to gain employment and mortgages, and my brother hasn't lost any jobs because his forearms are inked (though his are more badass than mine and my sister's). So next time I walk into a tattoo studio, I'd better not be hearing that garbage because it's my body, and I'll do as I bloody well please with it.
I've got a mind of my own, and I'm not afraid to use it...
...Wish you were here.
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