Body Modification/ Employment
1. What are your views on tattoos/ piercings/ scarification?
2. Should they make an employer turned off in hiring a person with them?
3. How would a person know if that is the reason he/she did not get hired Vs. qualifications for the job?
4. Are there any jobs where you feel that these modifications are unacceptable?
5. Which piercings would ( Read more... )
2. See number 1. I don't care if people have one, but as an employer I'd have to consider how my customers will react. Tone it down for work, or find a job where it doesn't matter.
3. They probably wouldn't. Of course, if professionalism is one of the qualifications for the job, coming into an interview with all yer punk rawk ink and steel on display might show you to not have the qualifications for the job.
4. Depends on the modification. A butterfly tattoo on your ankle isn't going to be a problem. A jacobs ladder, while interesting, isn't going to bug the straights unless you wear really really tight pants. If you're a irish white girl with a full Maori mask, well, that's going to be a little harder for granny to deal with when she sees it in the teller window at the bank.
5. If you had to be mostly naked before anyone could see them, they're fine.
If they're not visible in normal work clothes (e.g. tattoo on the upper bicep, wears long sleeves while at work; full body suit, wears Armani 3-piece) fine.
If the overall demeanor causes a reaction of "Oh, I never would have expected you to have a tattoo!" then they can get away with something small and visible.
6. Depends on the modification, depends on the job, depends on the person.
You're going to a job interview. You don't go in club clothes. You don't try to make yourself look sexy or edgy or cool... unless those things are relevant to the job. Take out the labret and eyebrow piercing, wear long sleeves to cover your long sleeves, and dye your hair a normal color.
If you want to live in the world on your terms and keep all that shit on, don't try to act like a martyr when the sheep won't employ you.
7. I'd probably look at it to see what it was and how well it was done if it's a tattoo. Piercings tend to register based on quanity and location (with a relationship between pain and risk of nerve damage equating to some level of percieved stupidity), but most often tend not to register at all. If I ever saw a scar job that didn't look like crap, I'd be impressed... but they usually look like they've been done with a cigarette lighter and/or a piece of scrap metal... tends to come across as "This person is stupid".
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For #6, you put: "Depends on the modification, depends on the job, depends on the person". Could you elaborate on what you mean by the last part? Depends on the personality of the person, if the mods suit the person and it flatters his/ her appearance (which can be debated since some don't think ANY can flatter), etc? Generally though, you are alright with mods as a cultural outlook but you feel there should be some decency shown towards an employer... kind of what emaling said?
What I believe should be addressed is why piercings/ scars/ tattoos are seen as vile an inappropriate. Is it because the stereotypical "troublemakers" are the first people to be thought of when mods are concerned? Or is it that people think that visible metal on a body is just plain tacky? Why is it that one or two sets in the ears are seen as acceptable, but any other piercings are seen as taboo by many people? I personally don't have mods because of other cultures halfway across the world, but there are views in African societies condoning these acts along with many others that are seen as a shock factor to us North Americans (sorry if there are any other people from other areas of the world on this site that I didn't address).
I agree with your view on scarification, but not to the extent of what you think because I'm open to all artistic modifications to the body. Unfortunately, I have not seen a single scar done for that purpose turn out with a professional look to it. I believe it can be done and maybe if there was one, it wouldn't appeal to me either but I believe whatever makes a person happy is great. It is "stupid" in a way because of the nerve damage based on how many layers of skin you must burn, but there are arguments about tattoos that near the same conclusion. (not talking about emplyoment vs. scarification, but in general)
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By "depends on the person" I'm pretty much restating the "I never would have expect that sort of thing from you!" type reaction. If you can get half-way into the interview before I notice you have a curved barbell nestled in your eyebrow, that's going to give you a lot of credit, both in having tasteful jewelery and in keeping enough interest focused elsewhere. If you walk in and I say "Oh, hey, this guy has his ears pierced." that will count against you, even if they're fairly tame piercings for all that. I'd be more favorably inclined to a guy with 0g black plugs in his ears than one with 12g fluorescent rings... even though the 0g is the more "extreme" piercing, simply because it's more discreet.
I think tattoos and piercings generaly count against you in a job interview because the people you'll probably be dealing with won't have tatoos or piercings. That's why you've seen people mentioning exceptions for record stores or coffee houses... in those cases, a lot of the clientel do have piercings and/or tattoos. If piercing and tatoos continue to be popular with young people for a few more decades, it will probably cease to be an issue since it will be commonplace for all except the more extreme modifications.
And don't confuse my statements while pretending to be an employer with how I feel about mods in general.
On scarring...
I think it would be interesting if they developed a tattoo ink that, rather than having pigment, contained an irritant that would cause keloid scars. Thus it would be possible to do intricate detail work ending up with what is basically an embossed look to the final design. The reason I associate scarring with stupid is because the people I've met that have them have been stupid, their reason for having them have been stupid, the designs have been stupid, and the implementation of the design have been clumsy. They look shitty, in terms of both art and execution. If I saw one that actually looked good, I'd have some new associations with it... until then, though, scar=stupid
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