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Mallorie Garvey
Mrs. DeBock
English 4
8 March 2016
Why Tattoos and Piercings Should be Allowed at Work
Tattoos are fragments of illustrations, either symbolic, cultural, or of personal meaning
that is either pictorial or by written word. Piercings are small segments of various types of steel
or silver that are punctured within the skin in any part of the body or face. Theres a selfconflicting matter for many adults that comes between wanting to have a great career with a
strong work ethic involved, and being able to express yourself with tattoos and piercings on your
body and face for those who have an interest in that. What people do not realize is that people
with tattoos and piercings modify their bodies not only because they believe it enhances their
appearance, but for cases more often associating with tattoos than piercings, it is symbolic,
meaningful, and in some cases religious to them.
Discrimination in the workplace over tattoos and piercings have been an issue in modern
society. Its become difficult to achieve the balance between being well respected in society and
having the benefit to being true to who they are. There are many intelligent people with great
potential and that are highly qualified for their jobs being turned down and discriminated from
jobs because of a matter concerning appearance, but in reality, concerns should be geared more
towards personality and work ethic rather than the appearance of an employee. A 2006 study
published in the Journal of American Academy of Dermatology of Americans aged 18 to 50
found that the overall rate of tattooing was 24%, with 22% of women and 26% of men having at
least one. (Elzweig, 13). An example of discrimination is when corporate leaders and managers

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think that just because someone has more tattoos than the average individual means that the
person may have served jail time, are not affiliated with religion in any form, or they have a
history of doing drugs. It is shallow to have such an opinion, because one must look deep within
a person rather than judging them for the art on the first layer of their skin. To try and go against
the discrimination to fight for the rights to self express can be tough. A tattooed or pierced
individual who contests a dress code or cover requirement on free expression grounds will have a
difficult row to hoe. Although some cases left open the possibility that, under the right facts, a
tattoo or piercing might be deemed to have enough expressive intent to trigger First Amendment
protection, it is hard to imagine a court agreeing (Bible, 120).
Trying to continue the employment process is often difficult for those with tattoos and
piercings because of the discrimination inflicted in these individuals, but for many, they know
that they would still like to have decent careers and achieve their goals in life, just like
everybody else. Prejudice towards these individuals is not morally correct, and this issue is a
setback for people to become successful and make something of themselves with the desire
instilled in them. Folks will make judgments about a person based on the tattoo, often
overriding professional credentials; the tattoos become a statement about the persons credibility
and personal judgment. (Murphy, 171). Discrimination towards race, sex, nationality, and
sexuality is not tolerated in modern society, so why discriminate against those with tattoos and
piercings when all of them want to be treated equally? Discriminating against tattoos is going
against the First Amendment, which one of the five freedoms listed is Freedom of Speech. It is
also a form of writing, and most do not realize this despite the pictorial and symbolic
demonstrations seen in modern society. The majority holds that tattooing is akin to writing, it

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should (and does) follow in the majoritys opinion that tattooing is equally deserving of
protection as writing. (Nickow, 95)
More often than not, to have the careers these individuals want, modified employees are
willing to cover up their tattoos and take out their piercings, not only to get the jobs they
desperately want, but to be respected in society as well to avoid discrimination. Kakoulas,
whose arms and back are heavily tattooed, says many professionals are afraid of being seen as
rebellious or antiestablishment. The best way to combat potential prejudices, she says, is to be
willing to cover up. Early in her career when she was hired at a corporate law firm in Brussels,
she used bandages and stage makeup to conceal her tattoos. (Pyrillis, 4). To turn down someone
who is highly qualified for the job only because that person has body modifications is not
benefitting anyone. The person a corporation could potentially hire could do an amazing job
contributing into their business and may even change/improve the business. A quick search
online of tattoo supporters shows that even on Facebook there are groups that formed to assist
tattooed individuals in a work setting. (Foltz, 590). Most rules in businesses today are to cover
up the tattoos and take out the piercings except for earlobe piercings when casually confronting a
customer.
What people do not realize is that people with tattoos and piercings modify their bodies
not only because they believe it enhances their appearance, but for cases more often associating
with tattoos than piercings, it is symbolic and meaningful to them. For a corporation to take the
time to analyze the importance of this issue is one of the best things they can do to realize the
effect of having restrictions towards who they hire. People need to realize that these individuals
are so much more than their outside appearance and that they may have great intentions for their
company and can make it into something great. Often, people with tattoos and piercings have to

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advocate for themselves, not only because they want to have the freedom to do what they
personally desire for their bodies, but because trying to find a job that is open minded to allowing
these people to work for them is tough.

Works Cited
Elzweig, Brian, and Donna K. Peeples. "Tattoos and Piercings: Issues of Body Modification and
the Workplace." HCS Smart Search. Web. 2 Mar. 2016.
Pyrillis, Rita. "Body of Work." HCS Smart Search. Rita Pyrillis, Nov. 2010. Web. 2 Mar.

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2016.
Foltz, Kristen A. "The Millennial's Perception on Tattoos: Self Expression or Business Faux
Pas?"HCS Smart Search. Kristen Foltz, 1 Dec. 2014. Web. 8 Mar. 2016.
Bible, Jon D. "Tattoos and Body Piercings: New Terrain for Employers and Courts." HCS Smart
Search. Jon Bible, 1 Sept. 2010. Web. 8 Mar. 2016
Nickow, Alexa L. "Getting down to (Tattoo) Business: Copyright Norms and Speech Protections
for Tattooing." HCS Smart Search. Alexa Nickow, 1 Sept. 2013. Web. 8 Mar. 2016.
Murphy, John K., and Beth L. Murphy. "Firefighter Tattoos and First Amendment Protection."
HCS Smart Search. John K. Murphy & Beth L. Murphy, 1 Apr. 2014. Web. 8 Mar. 2016.