If you have a tattoo or multiple tattoos I'm sure you've heard the following questions:
"How are you going to get a job with tattoos?"
"Aren't you concerned about what people will think about you if you get that?"
"You know that's permanent right?"
"What is your employer going to think about you when they see them?"
"Does that tattoo even have a meaning?"
Do you know what I Immediately want to say when I hear these questions?
IT IS ABSOLUTELY NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS WHAT I PUT ON MY BODY, SO WHY ARE YOU INTERROGATING ME?
However, we do live in a society where everyone MUST know everyone else's business... so let's approach these questions one by one and really break down the truth behind our tattoos and other's uninvited perception and opinions.
1. MANY MANY MANY people have jobs with tattoos.
It's just a fact. This doesn't mean that all people who have tattoos work at McDonald's or Walmart either. You can have tattoos, go to college, get more tattoos, and still find a great job after graduation. So what is it that makes people think that just because we have ink on our skins, that we are any less qualified to do well in the jobs we have or are pursuing? It is important here to note that out of these MANY MANY MANY people who have tattoos and jobs, that most of them are probably able to cover up their tattoos while they're at work in their professional wear or even their uniforms. So clearly my tattoos will not prevent someone from hiring me based on the simple fact that employers do not have x-ray vision, and therefore, cannot see my tattoos under my clothes.
2. I promise you we don't care about what you think of our ink, so don't even waste a breath providing your opinion.
The last things on my mind when I'm planning a new tattoo are "what are my parents going to think" or "I wonder if my professors will judge me for this?" I can ensure you that your opinion on my tattoos is irrelevant. I'm getting the tattoo, not you. It's going to be on my skin, not yours.
3. Yes, I obviously know this is permanent...I'm not getting a henna tattoo for a reason.
My view on the purpose of tattoos is to hold a memory, art, or a symbol close to you for the rest of your life. Everyone who sits down for a tattoo acknowledges that it is permanent. Do you really think that we don't understand this?
4. I do not believe my employer's perception of me will change when or if they see my tattoos.
My tattoos are not indicative of the work I will do, nor the energy or effort I am capable of. My tattoos do not make me a less valuable employee. If I am able to present myself in a professional manner and complete my work, my tattoos make no difference.
5. Not all tattoos have a symbolic meaning or represent an abstract metaphor for life.
However, some people do choose to get tattoos like this. AND THAT IS THEIR PREROGATIVE. If someone wants a sleeve of flowers, or a thigh tattoo of dolphins and butterflies just for the hell of it, that's totally their decision. If someone wants bible versus or dates tattooed on them that represent important aspects of their life, that's their decision. A tattoo can be whatever you want it to be. Some people like to collect art on their skin, and some people like to use their tattoos to tell stories. At the end of the day, the style of tattoos and the tattoos themselves are a direct result of what the individual wants, and as such, it is not your place to judge them.
At the end of the day, if you're questioning someone on their tattoos, and intentionally giving them a hard time about their own life decisions... don't you think you're in the wrong? Who are you to judge someone for a decision they made of their own volition which represents them and their individual character? You have no place to judge someone for their individual expression.... anyways, shouldn't you be more worried about yourself?