Lance Mayo
ENG 101
November 22, 2013
Persuasive Essay

An Outlet for Personal Expression

Doodles of skulls and flowers or significant works of art? Tattoos often times give people a negative image of others. Despite the message or meaning behind them, some people without them find tattoos to be unprofessional and inappropriate. Permanent body art can be inappropriate in certain settings; especially if they reference profanity, racial, sexist, or obscene thoughts. People are sensitive to those subjects and judge others impartially. Tattoos should not be a deciding factor in an interview or position for a job because tattoos should not measure ones capability of doing work. I believe tattoos are appropriate because they are an outlet for personal expression, and in addition to being meaningful, they also sometimes serve a practical purpose. Hans Hofmann, Pablo Picasso, and Van Gogh are all artists with signature and elaborate styles of painting. They neither conformed to “normal” styles, nor painted “inside the lines”. These famous artists had specific styles that were unique only to themselves. They were portrayals of how they were feeling at the time. With Hans Hofmann's style of repeated shapes and bright colors, Pablo Picasso’s cubism style and Van Gogh’s Starry Night, are all individualized pieces of art very similar to tattoos. Tattoos are less commonly seen as artwork on ones body and more often seen as symbols of being in a band, someone on drugs or a delinquent. Tattoos tell a story about a persons life and their struggles and triumphs. In Tattoos Tell my Real Story by David Paul Strohecker, “Tattoos are one of the best means of expression. Photos in homes and the families we come from are rarely seen by others. Tattoos can be seen by all and tell a story. “We are often asked to declare our identity for documents, applications, bank loans and even social networking sites. But how much of our identity is lost when we select "female," "African-American" or "Muslim?””. Ones identity is not just where they come from or their sex, it is how they choose to express themselves and how they choose to be seen by the world and their peers. Jobs such as artists, writers, rock stars, photographers, and entertainers are careers that are open to tattoos. Dance is most commonly thought of when someone mentions a career in which tattoos are not permitted. However, tattoos are becoming more and more accepted in todays culture. According to Body Image: Are Tattoos Taboo? (An article in Dance Magazine), Fabio Tavares, a performer apart of STREB dance company says, "In some cases, choreographers want to show the tattoos. Only one time was I required to cover a tattoo, and I think it had more to do with the character in the piece than the choreographer's preference”. In the dance world, tattoos are being used to dancers’ advantage rather than as reason for them being turned down. Job interviewers, while not legally allowed to discriminate because of tattoos, do so often. Tattoos that are hidden to employers do not pose a problem. Tattoos that tend to cause problems are tattoos that are visible (e.g. facial, hand or wrist). Although it is not legal, job interviewers would choose an applicant without tattoos over an applicant with tattoos even if the two credentials were the same.

Tattoos are used for more then just art purposes but for practical purposes as well. Some women have found that it is a hassle to apply makeup on a daily basis, so they have gotten tattoos of eyeliner, eyebrows, and lipstick. In addition to that men who are balding have found that they could tattoo there scalps to make it appear as if they have more hair. Besides appearance, tattoos have been useful for identification. In the past, soldiers did not walk around with any form of identification so they would tattoo themselves to acknowledge their accomplishments and status amongst one another. According to Mark Jordan in his paper Tattooing and Punishment, during the eighteenth century in Japan, “Major crimes like murder and robbery were still punishable by death but crimes like fraud, extortion, deceit and petty theft were punishable by tattooing. The punishment might be a ring around the arm for each offense or even a symbol tattooed on the forehead. Of course the rationale for the tattoo was to identify criminals and repeat offenders as well as embarrass the culprit”. Over time, tattoos are less about forms of identification and more about unique art pieces on the body. Although tattoos have a negative connotation and deny many applicants jobs, they allow people to express themselves, and provide an empirical role, in a way that other forms of art cannot. This may be difficult to comprehend for those without tattoos and older generations because the negative ideas of tattoos have been instilled in our minds. However, the sooner we accept tattoos, the sooner we will begin to realize that most tattoos are not discriminating or violating in anyway and are peoples ways of expressing themselves.

Work Cited

Jordan, Mark. "Celtic Tattoos." Zimbio. Celticpennsylvania.com, 17 Sept. 2008. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.

Strohecker, David Paul. "Tattoos Tell My Story." CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Apr. 2010. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.

Wisner, Heather. "Body Image: Are Tattoos Taboo?" Dance Magazine 1 Nov. 2004: n. pag. Print.