ASSISTANT EDITOR
Kherz’den Humphrey
Tattoos have been around for hundreds of years, maybe even thousands. They were once used as symbols of status, love and religion. So how did it turn into symbolizing that someone is unprofessional?
Tattoos are one of the biggest forms of nonverbal communication, which is how Crowder views them. Jamie Ward, Associate Vice President of Student Affairs, said “Tattoos are commonly considered “free speech” and are handled as such on our campus.” Ward also mentioned that some of the specialized programs at Crowder have their own regulations on tattoos, such as the nursing program.
When nursing students are sent to hospitals for clinicals, their director, Sandra Wilson, has to sign a contract stating that they will follow the hospital’s policies. One of these policies is about tattoos, and the restriction of their visibility. Because of this Crowder also follows the policy. However, as of January 2021, this policy has changed.
“Having tattoos doesn’t mean that someone can’t be a good nurse or doctor,” says Wilson, who has been saying for around five years that soon there would be no policy. Most of the hospitals that students go to have a tattoo policy in place, but they generally aren’t enforced. These policies have now been lifted by many hospitals.
One of the main reasons that tattoo policies are in place is because they have been deemed unprofessional.I don’t think that the way someone’s skin or body looks should be a judgement of their professionalism or work ethic. Professionalism should be determined by the person and their work, and not the way that they look.
Caroline Margle at the University of Alabama wrote an article for The Crimson White, where she stated that “a reason for hiding tattoos in office jobs may be because some people find them distracting or a way of revealing too much of one’s background, but neither of those reasons deem someone unprofessional because of their ink.”
Like stated before, tattoos are used as a form of nonverbal communication, though not many see it this way. “I think tattoos are a way of expressing oneself just like a haircut or an outfit. It in no way hinders someone to perform their job. It has nothing to do with someone’s professionalism.” Said Crowder student Brenna Ruiz. Ruiz herself has five tattoos.
In a study done by comparecamp.com “72% of tatted adults have tattoos that are hidden by their clothing.” In reality, the majority of the working class have tattoos, they just may not be visible at all times. So, if workers are still going to have tattoos, regardless of a workplace policy, why should there be one in the first place?
There is still the factor of how others view tattoos, especially customers of a business. To some, tattoos can be distracting, offensive or could even scare customers away. Those who view tattoos this way generally grew up in a more conservative time where tattoos were against social standards. My thought on this is that times change, and so does society.
We live in a time where the tattoo industry is growing more and more everyday. As time passes, society changes and becomes more accepting, so why are we still letting something as minor as a tattoo determine the quality of a person?
Tattoos don’t determine professionalism, people do.
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