How about the other way around?

In a job interview, my duture boss looked at ly tats and said, "you're probably not the kind of guy who takes a lot of shit from people."

My wife and I have been discussing what it's going to be like when all these freaky tribal tattooed peeps are in their 80's and living in nursing homes and get some conservative little rednick as a nures' aid to take care of them. Talk about tatoo discrimination. Another reason to live fast and die young. (Oops... guess I should have lived faster!) :-)

I've been told that if i don't take out my peircings while at work that i would be fired.
I would love to participate!!

I am a nurse and I have had to cover my 15 tats all the time. I get disaplined if I even mention the word tattoo. I had a recent disiplinary write up because I was discussing tattoos and piercings in the nurse lounge off the nurse station and according to one of the staff my "differences make them uncomfortable!" Whatever, I am a dedicated nurse and a wonderful person at least I think so. It is very discouraging that I am judged before I even speak regardless of my extensive education and career.

how about the employers right to express them selves. and if thier expression doesn't include tattoos then it is thier right to not hire someone. tattoos are a choice , not something like sking color , and not hiring someone with them is a choice also.

I have a full back back tattoo with two short sleeves. I am a Senoir Surgeical Supervisor and manage a team of 14 surgeons. My empIoyers know I have tattoos but I have also chosen to place them so I may work without having to openly display them. I also have had piercings but they were all "south of the border". A prince Albert, two ampallangs, and a frenum. I later removed the price Albert and did a meatotomy on myself. I think mods are a personal choice and a person should think about where they want to go in life before making permenant changes to themselves. I wanted to be a professional and my job requires meeting people. Since I never know how peope may react I made the decision not to have anything exposed unless I choose to show them off. This discrimination of "professional" is not like racism. You made a choice. If your chosen profession then requires you to work with customers or the public; don't whine if the tattoo prevents you from getting the job. There are plenty of places you can put a tattoo or body piercing that no one can see unless you want them to see. If the only reason you get a tattoo or body piercing is to show how cool you are then you got it for the wrong reason. If you just want to make the decision because that is your choice then don't bitch when somone says they don't want to hire you because they feel it will affect their business based on the position. You're an adult; take responsibility for your choices.

I work in a corporate environment. I know that I would be perceived differently if people knew about my tattoos. Appearance and the way you are perceived by others is everything here. And God forbid we make others "uncomfortable". I choose to sacrifice expressing my personal creativity at work in order to have a good job with awesome pay and benefits.

My BF works for a religious organization and has full sleeves. He also has to cover up at all times but he loves his work so he also makes that choice.

I've also read that tattoos and piercings can be a "distraction" in a business environment. Could be just another excuse to judge, but it could also be liegitimate. If you are meeting with a client and trying to sell a product, you want the product or your message to be the focus of their attention, not your ink or piercings. It's a really fine line and, until ink and piercings (and even vibrantly-colored hair) is more common, we will have to get used to staying covered or compromising our personal expression.

There are days when I would love to work someplace where my tattoos weren't an issue, but the reality is that I will likely stay corporate because that is where I am most likely to continue to make very good money and receive excellent benefits. I will also continue to get more tattoos. I would love to have full sleeves.

One thing is for sure - some days can be wardrobe hell. Summertime and holiday parties can provide some real clothing challenges. But it is a small price to pay to have something that is meaningful to me and that I enjoy.

Have you heard about the issue Ky State employees are having as a result of being tattooed? Last year, Ky tried to make it so their employees were not allowed to have "visible" tattoos, stating it did not put forth a "professional" image - Now as this was specifically involving the employess of the Parks and Recreation division, just how "professional" an image are we talking about? These are people who are out in the open, wearing workmen's clothing to perform their duties. They finally decided to "allow" their tattooed employees to remain working, but ONLY if their tattoos were covered up.... Gee, long sleeves in 100 % humidity outside in a park during Summer??? Great friggin' idea, right? I myself had repeated problems while I was a correctional officer in Fayette County - There were constant snide remarks by superior officers, because I had a visible arm tattoo (Uniforms short-sleeved), and a tongue piercing. A commander tried to make me wear long-sleeves during Summer as well, but that was resolved by my advising of my intent to go to H.R. with a discrimination suit. It did NOT stop the comments and being given less than optimal assignments, however. My current position as a bus driver for Fayette County Public Schools is having issues there as well. They knew when they hired me I had tattoos and piercings, as do many other employees. This year they tried to say we couldn't have any visible - Which was met with MAJOR outcry, as it was not in out policy and procedure manual. They then backpedaled and said tattoos would be allowed, provided they are not "offensive" in nature, subject to approval by the Director of Transportation (Who is a martinet without a single tattoo). But without there being written policy in place, I really feel they will use this as a lever to get rid of the people they don't care for.

ok new to the site here, just searching to find out what my rights are....
I have been working at the same job for over a year. When i was hired, i had my labret and tongue pierced. Nothing has changed, i actually won an award this past holiday for my magical contributions that have impacted all.....Now the crappy part, yesterday i was told by a superviser that i needed to take out my "visible" piercing, meaning my labret. We have a new set of "SOP's" (standard operating procedures) and in the new SOP it does clearly state no visible piercing. What can i do to not have to take it out, and still not be in trouble at work? ANY ADVISE would be helpful. Thanks for all you do here!!!

i agree with everyone up here
i think that employer's do have a right to uptain a certain image for their buisness
at the same time
i think that it is wrong. This is america. We all as americains have the right to express ourselves freely.
I mean people look at you differently, if you're not white, or if you're woman, if you have scars, if your hair is a funny color
you change your skin color now thanks to cosmetic surgery btw
i mean where do we draw the line
life sucks
after school you go to work, becuase you don't have a choice and obey other people's rules
where do we draw the line here people?
I can't condon in something that i love because of what other people think?
that makes so much sense
people are hypocrites
if that's the case then shit the whole world is fucked up
in our dress code books it states that some piercings may be offensive to people
okay well..people who wear thr redneck flag offend me
can i tell them..hey you can't come into out store because i am offended by your attire
look at the bigger picture
people are stupid yet we are all human
and do the same things
go to work so we can get a paycheck and live life
(unless you're retired)
I think soemthing is wrong with people discriminating against tattoo's even if it is a personal choice
\it;s fucking wrong wrong wong wrong wrong

All I know is I can't have any tattoos showing in the medical field. So getting any on my lower arms is pretty much out. Bums me, but that's how it is.

I work in a very conservative Corporate environment. I have tattoos on my back (one is visible with some shirts) and my nipples pierced (not that nayone ever sees them, lol!) and I am the youngest person in my particular department. They are very supportive of my self-expression but you can still feel the tension in the air when I do chose to show my upper back tat. I have restrained myself fromt eh nose piercing that I want but it is actually in our handbook as a violation for facial piercings.