In this world, people continuously judge others based on their values and morals. Whether the judgment comes from looks, or a different form of identification, such as a bumper sticker, an opinion or reputation is born. Tattoos, falling under the category of looks, is often an aspect of judgment as well. People have often been found to judge others with tattoos specifically, judging them on the fact they have a tattoo in the first place, and on what the tattoo is, and therefore depicting something about the person. While this form of judgment still occurs, the atmosphere around tattoos are changing and developing.

Without being exactly sure why, tattoos have always been viewed as a rebellious act. This idea may be simply because they are inherently permanent and the act of getting a permanent mark raises the concern or that it may have been seen as unnatural, however, tattoos have also always been viewed by many as a beautiful thing. While this topic is dependent on your specific values in the end, what is current, is the fact that public opinion on tattoos is changing. More people are getting tattoos, and the tattoo industry is growing. Today, 45 million people in America have at least one tattoo. While that may not seem like a large amount, the number has grown within the last 5 years and continues to grow. The attitude towards tattoos for some will remain the same, but for the majority of America, tattoos are becoming less of a negative characteristic.

The notion of tattoos in the workplace, have a similar development. While many people still would feel tattoos in the workplace will negatively affect the job atmosphere, many people feel that tattoos are not a complete judge of character. The statistics depict that while 76% of employees believe visible tattoos will hurt the interviewee’s chances, 73% of people have said that they would hire someone despite having a visible tattoo. On top of that, only 4% of people said that they have faced some sort of discrimination regarding their tattoo within the workplace. So, while there is still an issue regarding tattoos, the concern for tattoos within the workplace and public, has declined.

Instead of people judging based specifically on the fact that a person has a tattoo, the judgment has shifted to a more direct analysis, and rather on what the tattoo is and means. Tattoos, of course, mean something specific to each person. However, outsiders and strangers will make an opinion based on what they see and know. I do not have a tattoo, but when I see them, I usually find them cool and exciting but I also am usually interested in what the tattoo is and how its looks. What people have begun to realize, is that tattoos can be beautiful or ugly, based on the actual tattoo and artwork. People are less concerned with the inherent fact of whether someone has a tattoo or not but more interested in the aspect of what tattoo that person has gotten specifically and what it may say about them. In this world, time is incredible, and over time most things change, and among those numerous things, is body art.