Body piercings, tattoos, colored hair and many other body modifications are common in our generation Chances are if you have any of these you have been told that you will never be able to find a real job. Our generation is all about acceptance and embracing our individuality, so why are our choices to modify our bodies being criticized by the generations before us?
Looking for jobs in this economy is hard enough, adding in the factor that you might be denied a job you are completely capable for because of your appearance makes it even more difficult. We have laws dedicated to protecting individuals from discrimination for their heritage and age. While these factors are not a choice and modifying your body is, the former are recognized as characteristics that do not have an effect on an individual's ability to work. These things are simply characteristics of an individual, just like outward appearance and professionalism. With this in mind, I wonder why I am judged by employers for my stretched ears and pierced nose as if they are something that makes me inherently less professional.
This is problematic; in an age of acceptance and the destruction of discrimination, this is a sort of discrimination many people turn their heads at. I understand this is nowhere near as severe as racism or religious discrimination, but it is still a discrimination happening to people of many races, ethnicities, and religions. Jobs should be given to individuals based on merit and based on professionalism. Professionalism is its own characteristic, it is something that stands alone in an individual. Appearance has no effect on this trait, there is just a bias labeling people with body modifications as outcasts, troublemakers and unsuccessful. I plan to achieve all of my academic and career goals without compromising who I am because I know that my body modifications have not had the slightest effect on my personality traits.
I am challenging the idea that people like me, people who choose to express themselves outwardly, should be treated as less upon first glance just because of our appearances. If we are getting an education, if we are fully capable of meeting a job's requirements, we deserve to be treated as such. Our tattoos and piercings are not things that make us inherently less professional. This huge stigma around what we should or should not look like is poisonous to our individuality and our ability to truly express who we are. I aim to be a publisher and I aim to make a name for myself in the future. My career will not be compromised by my appearance.
So what do you think? Do you think body modifications actually hinder an individual's ability to be professional?
