kaykaymayz

[kaykaymayz]

Interviewed Intern

In this freestyle post, I am going to be talking about how tattoos are becoming more popular throughout the workplace. My brothers’ girlfriend Bailey Swartz works as an elementary school teacher at Belmont Charter School in Philadelphia. She teachers first grade reading, writing and spelling, but also wears multiple tattoos upon her body every day. I interviewed her about the hiring process when applying for teaching jobs and she told me “I absolutely think that tattoos are becoming more acceptable because I told every school I applied to that I had tattoos.”, they replied “we don’t mind, as long as you are good at your job, that is our only concern”. As a senior college student, she was nervous that her college decisions would affect her future but they didn’t affect anything. She said during the interview that “many of the teachers at Belmont Charter School have tattoos and some even have tattoos from the neck down!!”. It is obvious that tattoos are becoming more accepted by society because these are first grade teachers that are teaching very impressionable children and the hirer does not base the application process on the tattoos but rather on the degree of knowledge and capability of the teachers. Bailey explained that a student gave her a compliment saying “I like your tattoos they make you seem dangerous” and he further explained that he didn’t mean dangerous in an inappropriate or hurtful way, but he liked that a short innocent looking first grade teacher had the strength to get a painful tattoo and he admired her for being brave and getting a tattoo on her foot (which is a very painful place to get one).

 One thing bailey noticed was that during her foreign exchange interning  program in Ireland she was told by her college professors to cover up her foot tattoo because tattoos are not culturally accepted in Ireland and they didn’t want her to be discriminated against for having multiple tattoos. She said ‘it was a pain because I’d have to plan my day earlier to figure out how to cover up my tattoo effectively, it was really time consuming because I never had to cover it before so it took some figuring out before I got the hang of it”. This was the only time she received somewhat criticism for having a tattoo but it was because she wasn’t in America and her professors didn’t want people to get the wrong impression about her as a person, as well as a teacher.

[kaykaymayz]

“Tattoos and piercings – are they compatible with the workplace?”

In this academic journal, the authors Nick Jones and Matthew Hobbs explain that legislation is drowning in problems dealing with the increased popularity of tattoos entering the workplace. They discuss the several things that are taken into consideration by legislation when making a crucial policy for employment sake. One major thing that they touched base on is “when is dismissal fair?”. they explain The Employment Rights Act of 1996 state that if you are asked to properly cover up your tattoos and you do not, it is lawful for the employer to dismiss you from working at that company. 

Another topic spoken about in this article is the fact that companies must have a strict policy that opposes tattoos and piercings in the workplace. If they want to regulate their employees, the employers must have rules set in place in order for all employees to know that tattoo and piercings are unacceptable in the work place. This dress code can not be made up after an incident, it needs to be set in place before something could ever be a problem.

In my opinion this article brought up very good points that legislation nd employers take into consideration when hiring employees. I enjoyed reading this article it was very knowledgable and i learned a lot.

[kaykaymayz]

More people than ever are entering the workforce with tattoos and piercings

Abigail Bouwma writes “OP/ED: More people than ever are entering the work force with tattoos and piercings (April 2017)”. This article claims that there are so many people in the workplace have tattoos and/or piercings. Abigail is a secondary education english teacher who has two tattoos that hold great significance. Abigail backs up her thesis with statistics recorded by stapaw.com  as well as her personal experience. Her purpose for writing this op-ed was to persuade as well as inform young adults that many people who have tattoos ca also have jobs.The intended audience of this opinion editorial is young adults ages 18+, who are going through college and striving to have a successful job. Abigail speaks her opinion with both a academic language and conversational tone. 

The logic of this standardization is to in a way show abigail thought process while making this op-ed post. 

P1: I am a secondary education english teacher.

P2: Stapaw.com states tea 73% of employers say they would not discriminate against someone with tattoos during the firing process.

P3: do not let anybody define your worth because of your tattoos.

Thesis: You can get a successful job even with tattoos.

[kaykaymayz]

Tattoo Taboo

In this YouTube video, a talk-show host entertains the question “ will your tattoo affect your career?”. She explains her personal experience, the experiences of others around her as well as asking the people on the show with her about their personal opinions. 

[kaykaymayz]

TIES TO TATTOOS

The book I chose for my research question is “Ties to Tattoos”. This book explores the generational differences, along with how the generations can find ways to accommodate for each others beliefs and values in the workplace. The author Sherri Elliot-Yeary explains that “ multigenerational clashes are happening at an alarming rate, and organizations are firing employees or at a minimum transferring employees to other departments, in hoping for the best”(Elliot-Yeary 2011). She wants to find ways to use multigenerational as a  competitive advantage.

Source

A particular chapter that stuck out to me was Chapter 9. Chapter 9 gives real life examples of the multigenerational differences, for instance, a woman had 12 facial piercings and her coworkers were not comfortable enough to work with her. This chapter is relevant to my research question because we are the generation of full body tattoos and having multiple piercings are considered acceptable, we don't conform to old generation beliefs and values because a new accepted trend has developed. My research topic relates to why employers turn down tatted job applicants and this real life incident is a perfect example of why employers stray away from our generation of employees.

[kaykaymayz]

Opposing Opinions

For years’ people saw tattoos as a sign of rebellion. A middle finger salute to the rest of the world.”

 In Eric Schwartz film, “Tattoo Nation: The true story of the Ink Revolution” (2016), Eric explores the history of the art of Tattooing and why tattoos are so controversial. He presents this film by presenting the audience with a timeline of where tattoos originated and where tattoo is now in 2016.He provides the audience with interviews from the legends themselves, who started new tattoo techniques, and those who are well known for their exquisite art form. The purpose of this documentary was to inform the audience about the history of tattoos and the controversy caused. This film was intended for those who are interested in this form of art as well as those who are interested in the opinions that the topic provokes.

 Against The Law

It all starts in 1960 when people were being tattooed behind closed doors because the art of tattooing was illegal. Mark Mahoney a renowned tattoo artist from Boston, Massachusetts and owner of Shamrock Social Club tattoo shop used to see outstanding tattoos and would often ask “Where’s that tattoo from?” and he says everyone would say “California, The Pike”.  In 1960 “The Pike” located in Long Beach California was known for having numerous tattoo shops that were in the most populated place. This is where some of the best tattoo artists we located, in the 1960 the military men would dock their ships and go get tattoos and return to war with tatted arms and chests.

 Accepted

It wasn’t until the 1970s when tattoos were accepted. In prison, the men bonded together by the tattoos they wore upon their skin, some of the best tattoo artist were in jail. They would share the tricks of the trade, how to tattoo in different ways, and share their ethnic backgrounds through the tattoos they had; these men were the most popular within the prison. Tattoos were still illegal in prison; people would have to keep watch outside the prison cells for guards while the people inside would be tattooing. Many of these men would be released back onto the streets and tattoo for money, to show their form of arm, their respect fro their heritage and culture.

 Publicity

In 2002, The Chicanos took on a form of tattooing called “body suiting” which was a full body covered in Black and Grey tattoos that were reminiscent of their life story, the important things and the story of their life all in one place. Edward Chuco was well known for his amazing full body tattoos because he had a meaning for each and every tattoo, he was considered the ambassador of the Black and Grey style because that was the style he tattooed.

source 

Published

MTV began to surface shows on the art of tattooing and the talent that these artists have. Nowadays, getting a tattoo or seeing people walk around in public isn’t uncommon, people everywhere you go will most likely have ink on their skin. Its not hard to find a really good tattoo artist, or to get a tattoo, you don’t get judged for having tattoos nor do you get shut down for being a tattoo artist if your work gains publicity. These TV shows along with celebrity figures showing of tattoos made this form of art more accepted.

 The ethos used in this film are exemplified through this community that believed in the importance of tattooing and the dream of it one day being accepted by the public as well as it not being looked at as distasteful. Mark Mahoney wanted tattooing to be accepted so badly, that he would tattoo his friends in a bikers’ bar just to put his art work out there for the world to see. Edward Chuco caballero told his entire life story through his art and often times spent most his weekends undressing for people to admire his body at tattoo conventions. Without people like these famous men Tattoos would be viewed as rebellious.

 This documentary doesn’t answer my question but it shows the evolution of the art of tattooing and the balance between tattooing being illegal and it evolving into something everybody is fascinated by. It shows that not everybody is going to be a fan of tattoos but those that get tattoos show a sense of belonging and through their tattoos they can share their stories, memories or even their loved ones.  One of the interviewed men said “ I want to track my life, I want to put everything I love on me so that when I die I have everything with me” and others gave meaning to the bad times in life saying “ The madness on the streets came out of this beautiful art form.”. Everybody has a different reason for having tattoos, but it presented characters that made a living from giving tattoos to people and others getting tattoos so they couldn’t get jobs because they loved that their bodies did all the talking for them.

[kaykaymayz]

Tattoo Talk

Why is this important?

When you think of tattoos, you probably think of things relating to body art, Freedom of speech and expression, right? I want to talk about why tattooed job applicants are discriminated against by future employers because of their body art. I would like to dive deep into my thoughts and feelings on tattoos and compare them to those of employers. Within this blog I want to address the effects that tattoos can have on a persons’ career or future, the damage a tattoo could do to a persons’ life and the long term discrimination of tattoos from employers.

 What’s the big deal?

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a tattoo is “an indelible mark or figure fixed upon the body by insertion of pigment under the skin or by production of scars.” The word “Tattoo” stirs up a lot of controversy throughout the workplace and/or future workplace(s).Due to this topic being so controversial there are many times that qualifying applicants apply for a job and a corporation will fire or turn down the employee/applicant all because of a tattoo. You could throw away a potential career, a life-long dream, and most importantly the money spent on education to achieve your dreams.

 What defines a person?

Does a tattoo define who you are? What if that tattoo symbolizes something that helped you become the individual you’ve grown to be? Why do employers feel that tattoos are a make-it or break-it for job applicants? All of these questions that we do not have answers too, but we soon will. As we explore tattoo discrimination in the workplace, these questions will be answered and you can determine whether this changes your views or not.

 Did you know?

Did you know that your doctor, orthodontist, surgeon, or life saver could have a tattoo and you would never know? They could save your life one day, does their tattoo change their qualifications in your eyes?