<p>My mother is helping my recent college grad niece pay her rent. In the last 6 months, niece has had two tattoos …my mother doesn’t like them at all and now she is upset that niece has spent money on them, while nana is subsidizing her. I am kind of surprised she has inked herself considering that she doesn’t wear any makeup and her clothing , jewelry and hair are on the plain side. </p>
<p>“I am saying that if the kid doesn’t understand or accept the logic behind the rules (which is pretty common, as most parents seem reluctant to spend the time to adequately explain that logic), then they are for that kid arcane. And you won’t know that your kid finds those rules arcane until you see the tattoo for the first time!”</p>
<p>But I have logic behind it. In our opinion, they are unattractive, deface the body, and made worse by the fact that they are permanent. Which distinguishes it from the “merely unattractive” (eg a shirt or haircut I don’t like). You may not like that, but that doesn’t make it arcane. </p>
<p>“It doesn’t change or cause me to question my own personal taste.
That was basically the point. All of this stuff is subjective”</p>
<p>Sure. So? My opinion that tattoos are unattractive (for me and mine -again I don’t care what others do) is subjective. So are all kinds of opinions we have and run out lives by. </p>
<p>There are longer-lasting temporary tattoos that are sold as body art and look like jewelry, which I believe stay on for a few weeks, similar to henna painting that also comes off over time. </p>
<p>I think these might be useful for folks who are contemplating body art but aren’t positive they want permanent ink. </p>
<p>I’m another person who doesn’t like any tattoos. I find them all unattractive, but I particularly dislike tattoos on the face and neck, and really large tattoos.</p>
<p>I think the point I would make here is that it doesn’t matter to me how meaningful the tattoo is to you–it will never look good to me. If you are seeking to be hired by someone like me, and you have an uncovered tattoo, that may affect your ability to get hired, especially if the job is one that requires contact with the public. You might also not get the job if you dress in a way that I don’t like. That’s just reality. It’s probably true that there are more and more people who make hiring decisions that don’t care about this–but there are still plenty who do. I can tell you that among the lawyers and lobbyists I see in D.C., I don’t think I’ve ever seen a single person with a tattoo that is visible while the person is wearing business attire. I’m sure there must be some, but not many.</p>
<p>I don’t care what you tattoo on your behind. That’s your business. I don’t want to pay for my kids’ tattoos, wherever they might be.</p>
<p>I also don’t really get this idea of having tattoos that are meaningful. There are images that are meaningful to me–I carry them in my wallet, or hang them on the walls of my house, etc. The idea of permanently inking them onto my body seems silly to me.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, I hate gauged-out ears even more.</p>
<p>Hmm…I told my kids I was going to get a tattoo for a milestone birthday and they were horrified. Got a whole lecture about it being inappropriate at my age , a health hazard, etc. ("what will you do when you are old and wrinkly? ") and my husband philosophically said that since I can’t so much as pick out a pair of socks without agonizing, he was confident my head would explode before I settled on a tattoo and placement. DH was so right. </p>
<p>One of my son’s former GF’s and several nieces/nephews made that mistake of having something linked to a SO tatto’d on them , usually words in the beloved’s handwriting, which was cool but ill advised. I am more likely to judge a person on their grammar than their tattoo!</p>
<p>And then there are those unfortunate typo tattoos . . .</p>
<p>You could end up with this situation:
<a href=“http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/norman_rockwell/”>http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/norman_rockwell/</a></p>
<p>Hunt, it’s entirely possible that many of those suits are covering tattoos. And that’s fine. But those who opt for visible tattoos aren’t likely DC suits or bankers or corporate lawyer types. And that’s fine too, because luckily there are many other worthwhile jobs. </p>
<p>I don’t get why you think it’s silly to put something meaningful on my body, just as you don’t why we do it. So it’s all good. Having a photo or artwork of the design I have on my shoulder (NOT wrinkly at 56 and it’s been 25 years now) wouldn’t be meaningful in the context I want it to be meaningful, and that doesn’t actually matter to anyone but me. So again, it’s all good.</p>
<p>"I don’t get why you think it’s silly to put something meaningful on my body, just as you don’t why we do it. So it’s all good. "</p>
<p>Because it comes in the form of something that some of us dislike aesthetically, no matter the sincerity or heartfelt-ness of the sentiment. If I were to memorialize, for example, my deceased father, it would never occur to me in a million years to tattoo his name on me. But I do wear a necklace that contains the diamond from the engagement ring he gave my mother. It’s more attractive (in my personal opinion - and my opinion is the one that counts when it’s my body and “decoration”) AND it’s something I can take on or off AND I’m not stuck with it forever if I don’t want to be. I don’t see the need for it to be physically embedded in my skin for the sentiment to be permanent and heartfelt. </p>
<p>And tastes change over the years. I might get this diamond reset if my tastes changed at some point - I have that option. I can’t get a tattoo “reset” (well, I could, but painfully so).</p>
<p>I really think some of you don’t get that some of us find this viscerally and aesthetically unattractive for our own selves, no matter how meaningful the sentiment. </p>
<p>Oh, I get why you don’t like them for YOURSELVES, but we’re not talking about YOU. WE are the ones who have the tattoos! And you CAN change a tattoo. The one I have is still very small, but has an added element that I had done 10 years after the initial design. I know others who had designs altered through the addition of elements and colors. So it can be done. I agree, though, about putting an SO’s name-you really never know how the relationship will go.</p>
<p>. DH was so right.
I would be annoyed that he voiced his thoughts.
My H doesn’t like them, but he knows that eventually I probably will get one.
He just asked that I don’t have ink on his more favorite bits.</p>
<p>"Oh, I get why you don’t like them for YOURSELVES, but we’re not talking about YOU. WE are the ones who have the tattoos! "</p>
<p>Because I’m personally not going to like them on anybody, because that’s just me and how I roll. And? Why does that bother you so much? If YOU like them, and they are meaningful to YOU, and YOU’RE happy, what should you really care if I like them or not? I’m neither the tattoo police nor the taste police. </p>
<p>There are all kinds of things that, if directly asked, I might not care for. I might not care for the color you chose to paint your living room, or that scarf you’re wearing, or all kinds of things. You might not like my taste in various things, either. As long as I’m not actively walking up to you and telling you those things on an unsolicited basis (or vice versa), why should you worry about it? </p>
<p>Because some people hate tattoos so much that even though it impacts them not at all, they won’t work with/do business with/shop/eat/visit places which hire tattooed people. Tattoos have nothing to do with how ANYONE does their job. None. But the exterior matters THAT MUCH so some people. I think that’s wrong, as wrong as someone who won’t work with a person with red hair or green walls or pink lipstick. </p>
<p>So if I show up for my receptionist interview looking like Tammy Faye Bakker or Peg Bundy, you won’t hesitate to hire me. After all, it has nothing to do with my ability to greet people and take their coats. </p>
<p>Tammy Faye or Peg might have exceptional greeting skills, phone manners, time management, computer expertise and be very organized. Based on those skills - which would be WAY more evident during her time on the job than what she is wearing on her face, hair or body - might be just the right person for the job. The interview, her resume and experience and a personal conversation would tell that - not just her physical appearance. </p>
<p>It might depend on the nature of the office and industry. My receptionist has visible tattoos, she’s an artist, but it’s fine in my office setting. It might not be fine in other settings. </p>
<p>Yes, and in some offices/industries the receptionist has skills beyond greeting people and taking their coats. :)</p>
<p>PG, you contradicted your own question/stance by asking about Peg Bundy then saying YOUR own place of employment has hired a receptionist who has visible tattoos. I don’t know any receptionists who do nothing but say hello and take coats. But since your OWN office has hired a tattooed person, obviously it is OK with that business to have the “face of the company” be tattooed. So what’s the issue?</p>
<p>No one, I don’t think, has said that someone can be covered head-to-toe in tats, have 5 or 6 visible piercings and purple hair and be expected to get hired anywhere at all. But from what I see around Seattle, most places are like your very own-they are ok with even moderate tats or piercings, even in jobs where public contact is important. Which was my point.</p>
<p>LOL I’m trying to picture myself lecturing my parents about not getting a tattoo. Nope, can’t do it. Just like they never lectured me. </p>
<p>Tattoos aren’t my partner’s thing but he’d rather slice out his own tongue than tell me what to do. </p>
<p>As I’ve said on other threads, if my employers can see my tattoos, I’m likely not in a business where “proper attire” is needed 
</p>