Quote:
Originally Posted by Crescent Moon
It might seem unfair, but that's the reality. When we're young, we often rebel against societal norms. The lengths we sometimes go to to establish an identity, though, can haunt us for a long time. The reality is that image does count. An employer justifiably looks at it as "will it help my profits?" That is at the core of capitalistic economics in the U.S. If an employer believes that its customers will be reluctant to trust his business, or buy from him, etc., if the business' representative (you, the employee) has some characteristic that might turn-off customers, they justifiably won't want to hire that person. Perception is everything, and it doesn't matter that it's unfairly judgmental of people in general to assume that a woman with a lot of visible tattoos is probably involved in a socially unacceptable lifestyle. There is no way to change the perceptions of society, and business knows that. So, when they look to hire someone, especially at a time of high unemployment with lots of available workers to choose from, they will always pick the people they think will best draw and keep the trust and loyalty of customers.
You may ask friends who have tattoos what kind of work they've been successful in finding. There very well could be employers that don't care about tattoos. Perhaps behind the scenes work - like warehouse, or factory work, Another option, would be to look into getting at least the visible tattoos removed.
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Most of the people I know work in tattoo shops (which is why I'm so covered) so they have nothing to worry about. My personal artistic skills are nowhere near as good as theirs and women aren't always viewed as equals in that industry. I'm a bartender and in my personal experience, tattoos are a conversation starter. It gives people something to talk to me about. Unfortunately, laser removal of ANY of my tattoos is not (and never will be) and option. Not only is it excruciating but it costs about $3000 to have a baseball sized tattoo removed. It's not worth it. Plus, it leaves scar tissue like crazy so my skin will never look the same again.
I knew the negative effects of my choices before I made them. I accept most people's idea that I am not "normal". But this is normal TO ME. It is my choice to decorate the body I have been given. The job thing sucks, absolutely, and I get that most people don't accept it.
But "most people" aren't the people I want to deal with and I do not apply to jobs that I think like clean cut people (I tend to apply to lower end bars, not only because of my tattoos but because you make more money in dives than in fancy martini bars). I do not apply to hotels, corporate chains, or anything along those lines. It's just something upsetting... And also classified as discrimination.