I always wanted tattoos.
My friends and I would spend hours brainstorming and sketching out our ideas, and yet none of mine ever came to fruition. Part of it was my own fear of needles, but the other part had to do with stereotypes and social stigmas of tattoos.
Lyndsie Kiebert
Rawr
Tattoo shops always seem to be depicted as seedy and unsanitary, while tattoo artists are shown to be thugs or spidery, impersonal men and women.
But more than simple stereotypes – which are easy to overcome by setting foot in nearly any tattoo shop – the stigma surrounding body art is what kept me from getting tatted up for so long.
Tattoo naysayers have a few go-to phrases. “Are you sure you”re going to like having that branded onto your body forever?” “Employers don”t hire people with tattoos,” or the always lovely, “Tattoos are just trashy.”
As with every other topic, these people are entitled to their opinions and beliefs surrounding body art. But thanks to changing times, these viewpoints are rapidly becoming the minority.
Upon coming to college, it became clear to me that more young people have tattoos than I”d originally thought. In response to the question, “Are you sure you”ll want that on your body forever?” the answers vary, but fear of getting tired of the chosen design is not common.
One girl told me that regardless of whether the art on her body holds true as a representation of her as she ages and changes, the tattoo will always be a representation of who she was at the time that she got it – it was an answer I never forgot, and I now apply it to my own beliefs surrounding body art.
Clearly visible tattoos are a slippery slope, however, when options for employment are brought into question. I do not condone throwing fits when employers deny someone a job based on tattoos. Business owners have rights to their own hiring policies. Instead, I want to call attention to changing trends.
In 2007, CBS News estimated that 23 percent of college students had at least one tattoo. This number has undoubtedly increased in the last nine years, and while in the past someone with copious tattoos could say goodbye to any chance at certain career paths and job positions, more tattoo-adorned people are working in corporate or government positions now.
Though claiming that employers can”t discriminate based on body modifications is not realistic, understanding that some employers are approaching the issue more open-mindedly is important.
Lastly, the statement that tattoos are simply trashy – the snobby backlash to body art culture – is also based on stereotypes that people with tattoos are either white trash or gangsters. And, granted, poorly done tattoos can seem less than tasteful and let off a trashy vibe to those who choose to view tattoos in such a light. But again, stereotypes rarely reflect the reality of a stigmatized topic.
Tattooists are artists. The fact that their canvas is human skin may not go over well with some, but these people are nonetheless skilled and passionate about what they do – and what they do is continually being recognized for the art form that it is.
Despite my apprehensions, I got my first tattoo last week. The experience was entirely positive – my tattooist was a middle-aged woman with a warm laugh and welcoming, clean studio. I endured my fear of needles long enough receive a simple tattoo above my ankle and left the shop in high spirits.
Tattoos may face disdain from many, and that is OK, but it is exciting to see this art form clearing a more positive space for itself. The stigma is still there, but society is taking steps toward accepting the personal choice of body modification.
Lyndsie Kiebert can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @lyndsie_kiebert