Tattoo Discrimination Leaves Permanent Mark on Employees
Written By: Kaytee Weidenfeld
Many people are discriminated against globally for the art in which they choose to adorn their bodies with.
Not long ago, body modifications were reserved only for sailors, soldiers, inmates and carnies.
However, with the turn of the 21st century, the art of tattooing has gone from subculture to pop culture.
According to VU Trailblazer, the earliest record of a tattooed individual dates back to 2000 B.C.
Since tattoos are as old as time, why is body art still being discriminated against in modern culture?
John Slater, tattoo artist and shop owner of Tattoo Revival, from Madison, believes tattoos are an easy target for discrimination.
“They’re out there for everybody to see and it’s an acceptable target,” said Slater, a UNC Greensboro (UNCG) graduate of fine arts. “It’s way more acceptable to say, ‘I don’t like that guy because he has tattoos,’ than to say, ‘I don’t like that guy because he’s black.’ It’s a more acceptable way to discriminate someone.”
According to Debate, 77 percent believe tattoos are negatively stereotyped in the United States.
Slater said the idea of being stereotyped with “drunks and whores” is what leads to discrimination in the first place, especially at work.
According to Project Censored, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 bans employers from discriminating against potential and existing employees based on race, sex, disability and religion.
But the website also reported there are no state or federal laws protecting modified persons unless it’s affiliated with their religion.
Pancho Mendez, vocalist of death-metal band Butcher of Rostov, from Mooresville, said his tattoos have hindered his job opportunities.
Mendez, a student of graphic design at Independence University, said after returning home from his first semester of college, he sought employment.
However, each establishment said he would have to shave, remove his body jewelry, and cover his tattoos, Mendez said.
After many interviews, he finally found a company who accepted him the way he was.
“All the other places only looked at how I represented their company and how interacting with customers would make them look,” he said. “Which again I understand, but I do not agree with. That’s judging a book by its cover and we’ve been taught since children not to do that.”
Mendez said his current employer, Cardinal Glass, has no problem with his appearance. He feels his work ethic speaks for itself.
“You give me a guy who looks like the biggest run-down bum with all of the tattoos all over his face,” he said. “It doesn’t matter. If he does a better job than the girl who was raised in the suburbs, I’ll take him over her.”
Mendez also gets discriminated outside of the work place. He believes a big part of it comes from living in the Bible Belt.
He said he’s never experienced southern hospitality, maybe because of his tattoos, as he sighed recalling a particular incident at a local Chick-fil-A.
Mendez said he was asked to leave the establishment because of the goat-headed priest tattoo on the back of his calf.
He wasn’t causing a distraction or harming anyone. He said he was patiently waiting for his order.
“I was really confused and not to be a child about it, but my feelings were kind of hurt,” he said. “Somewhere I’ve gone multiple times and have never been treated differently, and the one time you see something that is a part of me forever and you might not understand, you automatically write me off and treat me as a second-class citizen.”
Mendez said people don’t care that he has a 4.0 GPA and owns a sweet black cat named Jinx. All people care about is what they see.
Courtney Peters, a UNCG student of social work and public health, said she has never let her tattoos hinder her career opportunities.
Peters said employers always ask her to cover her tattoos, but she doesn’t mind. She said she knew what she was getting into when she started getting inked.
“I have a lot of friends who are getting their master’s and Ph.D. and doing a lot of impressive things, and they’re covered in tattoos,” she said. “I can’t imagine a world where they’re turned down because of something that is on their skin. I’m pretty positive for the future.”
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