• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

College Magazine

College Life, Dating, Career & Campus Advice

  • Colleges
    • College Guides
    • College Rankings
    • Campus Life
      • Academics
      • Dating
      • Freshman Year
      • Health
      • Social Change
      • Party
  • Majors
    • All Majors
    • Most Popular Majors
    • Choosing a Major
  • Intern
    • Internship Directory
    • How to Get an Internship
    • How to Write a Resume
    • How to Write a Cover Letter
    • How to Interview
    • How to Network
    • Career 101
    • Find Your Passion Career
  • Money
    • How to Make Money
    • How to Save Money
    • How to Get a Job
    • Credit Cards 101
    • FAFSA
    • Ramen Project
  • Travel
    • Study Abroad
    • College Spring Break
    • How to Travel Cheap
    • Things to Do
  • Shop
    • Writer Course
    • College Magazine Shop
    • Gift Guides
    • College Packing List
  • Find your college or university
  • Colleges
    • College Guides
    • College Rankings
    • Campus Life
      • Academics
      • Dating
      • Freshman Year
      • Health
      • Social Change
      • Party
  • Majors
    • All Majors
    • Most Popular Majors
    • Choosing a Major
  • Intern
    • Internship Directory
    • How to Get an Internship
    • How to Write a Resume
    • How to Write a Cover Letter
    • How to Interview
    • How to Network
    • Career 101
    • Find Your Passion Career
  • Money
    • How to Make Money
    • How to Save Money
    • How to Get a Job
    • Credit Cards 101
    • FAFSA
    • Ramen Project
  • Travel
    • Study Abroad
    • College Spring Break
    • How to Travel Cheap
    • Things to Do
  • Shop
    • Writer Course
    • College Magazine Shop
    • Gift Guides
    • College Packing List
  • Find your college or university
  • About Us
  • Team
  • Write
  • Apply
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sign Up
  • Advertise
  • My Account
  • Cart

You are here: Home / Life / Tattoos: Wrong or a Work of Art?

Tattoos: Wrong or a Work of Art?

January 13, 2016 //  by Jayna Taylor-Smith

Shares56FacebookTweet

When I told my aunt and grandmother I wanted to get a tattoo when I turned 20, they looked at me through wide eyes, practically burning a hole in my skull. “Who is going to hire you if you have a tattoo? What is so important that you want it permanently on your body?” my aunt said.

Growing up around a dad and two older sisters with tattoos, I didn’t think it would surprise my family so much that I wanted one. More importantly, I only knew how to answer just one of my aunt’s questions. What was so significant that I wanted it on my body forever? Easy: My family.

Ever since I was a little girl, my dad called me and my sisters his three flowers. It always stuck, so my sisters and I hope to get matching tattoos of three flowers.

However, the first question my aunt asked left me stumped. Who would hire me after I got a tattoo?

I always see working people with tattoos, so I never thought of it as a big deal. Would employers really look the other way and hire a different writer just because I had three flowers inked onto the side of my torso? Would I really be seen as unprofessional or tacky?

The debate over tattoos has gone on for decades. Recently though, millennials (anyone between ages of 18 and 33) are getting inked more frequently than the previous generation. According to the Pew Research Center, at least one-third of Gen-Y kids have a tattoo.

I spoke to Sean Chance, principal of Pembroke Pines Charter Central campus in Pembroke Pines, Florida, about the matter. He noted tattoos aren’t something he asks about when looking to hire new employees and they don’t actually change his view of the applicants.

“Depending on the type of tattoo, it might give me a little insight into the person they are or where they were at a different period in their life,” Chance said.

He mentioned multiple times that placement of the tattoo was of importance to him. “Most professionals have them in a place that can be covered when needed,” Chance said. He explained that in the educational field, if a tattoo was in a place that couldn’t be covered, it could be a violation of the educators’ code of ethics, especially if the image or text is inappropriate.

Kelly McIntyre, a teacher at Miramar High School in Miramar, Florida, currently boasts nine tattoos. She uses tattoos as a way to achieve the “pin-up/rockabilly girl look” and mark meaningful times in her life, like when her two sons were born.

“What it comes down to is that I’m a storyteller and each tattoo is a story–a vignette, I guess–that makes up the story of me,” McIntyre said.

Regardless of her body art, colleagues and students at Miramar High continue to show her the utmost respect. “My tattoos don’t usually show at work, but by the time they do, that respect has already been built,” said McIntyre.

If a person’s expertise is already recognized, why should a tattoo change another’s opinion entirely?

This only goes to show that while Generation Y is progressing in ways far different than their predecessors. Even the baby boomer generation is becoming more accepting of the times as well.

Tufts University sophomore Matthew Wilson currently has two tattoos, a floral print on one forearm and one that reads “Love Thy Melanin” on the other. The latter is his message to society. “I want to love my blackness and for others to love their blackness more,” Wilson said.

As an aspiring instructor in the education field, he doesn’t think his tattoos will affect his professional career. Though more conservatives see his perspective as naïve, his idea isn’t far-fetched. He did mention he’d feel pretty terrible if a great job opportunity passed by him as a result of his ink. “That would mean we live in a society where my tattoos mean more than my competency,” Wilson said.

With this mindset, he decided he wouldn’t purposely try to cover his tattoos during an interview. And if asked to remove a tattoo to get hired? Forget it. “I would not,” Wilson said. “Plain and simple.”

Collectively, millennials strive to be different and unique. Tattoos offer another way to achieve this goal. Showing diversity and individual personalities, tattoos neither signal rebellion nor do they measure intelligence. Instead it’s the development of the new generation: Generation Y.

Shares56FacebookTweet

Filed Under: Life

About Jayna Taylor-Smith

Jayna is a junior at The University of Florida studying journalism while earning a minor in innovation. She is undoubtedly a Swiftie and is always looking at cat photos on the internet. Her spare time is spent on Netflix or napping.

You May Also Like

The Virgin Bar Guide for Turning 21

inspirational speeches from movies like rocky balboa keep you going

10 Best Inspirational Speeches from Your Favorite Sports Movies

songs to belt out

21 Songs to Belt Out in the Shower

Top 10 Weird Scholarships You Can’t Miss

cultural identity and language

Language Abilities Don’t Define Your Cultural Identity, Unless?

How I Turned My Personal Journals into a Published Book

15 Alcohol-Free Activities for a Friday Night In

Reflecting on Fall 2020: How to Recover from One of the Hardest Semesters

How to Make Money From Home Without Taking Off Your PJs

15 COVID-19 Safe Ways to Celebrate the Holidays in 2020

Top 10 COVID-19 Safe Activities to Do Near Fresno, California

Breaking the Binary: My Journey into Identifying as Non-Binary

The Döner Project: My Berlin Budget as a College Student

CM’s Guide to the Print and Digital Journalism Major

Away from Home and Feeling Gross: Being Sick My Freshman Year

A Tale of Two Twin Flames

movies to binge over winter break

Battling Boredom: 10 Movies to Binge Over Winter Break

Being an Asian-American: Learning to Accept Both Halves of Myself

How to Become a Published Poet

ADHD or the Enemy? At Least My College Helped Me

berkeley outdoors

10 COVID-19 Friendly Things to Do in Berkeley, California

Top 10 DIY Gifts for Your BFF

Christmas

10 Gifts For Parents That They Want But Haven’t Asked For

friend group dressed up as Big Hero Six characters

Animation Nerds Unite: 10 Gifts for Animation Lovers

Previous Post: « The 5 Types of Guys You Date in College
Next Post: Clubbin’ with PSU’s Top 10 Communications Clubs »

Primary Sidebar



Trending Posts

internship finder
181

The 10 Best Websites for Internships

dancing dreams
84

Saying Goodbye to My Dreams of Dancing

ucla royce
22

10 Resources All Student Artists at UCLA Should Know About

bookstack
12

Adding Diverse Stories to Your Shelves: 10 Books by BIPOC Authors

10

Top 10 Covid-19 Safe Spots to Explore Near UCLA

Featured Chapter: St. John’s University

Footer

logo

College Magazine is the national daily guide to campus life. Our articles for college students feature university rankings of U.S. colleges, college guides, academic advice, college prep, career advice, student health and collegiate dating tips.

Written by students for students, by a team of journalists from universities nationwide, we’re on the pulse of the college experience.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Colleges

  • College Guides
  • College Rankings
  • Campus life
  • Academics
  • Dating
  • Freshmen Year
  • Health
  • Party

Majors

  • All College Majors
  • Most Popular Majors
  • Choosing a Major

Intern

  • Internships Directory
  • How to Write a Resume
  • How to Write a Cover Letter
  • How to Interview
  • How to Get an Internship
  • How to Network

Money

  • How to Make Money
  • How to Save Money
  • How to Get a Job
  • Credit Cards 101
  • College Loans

Travel

  • Study Abroad
  • College Spring Break
  • How to Travel Cheap
  • Things to Do

Shop

  • College Packing List
  • Gift Guides
  • About Us
  • Team
  • Write
  • Apply
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sign Up
  • Advertise
  • My Account
  • Cart

Copyright © 2021 College Magazine · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc.