Tattoos have become more mainstream within the U.S. as more residents decide to get tatted. Statistic brain reports around 45 million Americans have at least one tattoo, 36 percent of them ranging from the ages of 18- 25. Despite the growing rate of tattoos, many conservative or traditional businesses still unfairly find tattoos to be unprofessional.

Tattoos are often stigmatized to mean a person is more rebellious and unprincipled. Customer service jobs often won’t allow any employees to have visible tattoos, which means employees with ink must cover up. Many amusement parks hold this policy, which may result in having to wear a long sleeve shirt while working outside in 95-degree weather. It’s an unfair and outdated notion, especially since a 2012 Harris Interactive Poll reports 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. have inked skin.

Another reason many employers hesitate to hire a person with visibly tattooed skin is because it’s deemed not family friendly, despite many modern parents and legal guardians having tattoos themselves.

An individual’s professional worth should not be reduced due to an artistic choice they make about their own body. A doctor with visible tattoos should be deemed just as trustworthy regardless of whether a patient can see the ink on their skin. An elementary school teacher should still be viewed as kid friendly even if they hold visible tattoos on their body.

So far none of the states within the U.S. hold any protections for tattooed workers from job discrimination. However, the rise of tattoos among younger generations starts to normalize them as these individuals enter the workplace. Many contemporary businesses either have a less strict set of policies surrounding tattoos or don’t have any at all. As tattoos become trendier, the professional perspective of tattoos may hopefully find itself in a much more positive light within the near future.