Dear editor,
In response to: “
Tattoo policies only skin deep,” by Emily Letterman. I get it. Tattoos are popular and a lot of people have them. And those who do consider them valuable, for whatever reason. Some consider them art. But I disagree with Emily Letterman’s “Below the Fold” editorial on the subject. She says, “Shouldn’t we be more accepting of people and how they choose to express themselves?” and “who are we to judge someone for finding something good and beautiful through art?”
On a personal level, maybe. I wore bell-bottom jeans when I was in college and had shoulder-length hair, for a while after graduating, but soon realized these things did not provide the professional look I needed to be hired, unless I was applying for salesman at the local incense store. The material I sewed on the bottom of those jeans was attractive, in my mind, and I looked cool. But most businesspeople who were doing the recruiting did not agree. I conformed.
Should I have taken a hard stand and insisted the business owners and recruiters conform to my personal taste instead? I mean I looked good, it was art. How silly.
I’ve been told if you take an idea and extend it to its extreme, you can see whether or not it really makes sense. Should wearing art on our body be a personal choice that has no impact on our pursuit of a job?
I’m sure you’ve seen those with tattoos that turn their skin various colors with little of the natural color left. So intricate are the tats that no one could ever understand them without a magnifying glass and cue cards. But let’s not stop there.
What if the personal art I want to wear is a small, framed picture of the Mona Lisa around my neck? What if I want to wear one shoe and go barefoot with the other foot, because it expresses my personal imbalance with my background and heritage? On and on we could go with crazy examples of insisting that you (business professional) have no business messing with my desire to express myself.
You’re right, so go ahead. Meanwhile, if I’m the recruiter, I may quietly allow your artful body to express itself elsewhere.
But I agree with Emily when she says, “maybe (put the tattoo) in a less visible spot.” Small, discreet, somewhere not visible during business hours. Fine.
Otherwise, learning how to reasonably conform to the business expectations of being a professional is one of many lessons we need to learn as we enter the marketplace. And I bet you can still be happy if you try hard.
—Rick Willis, Scroll Compressors LLC
