tattoos

[waterboy]

To me, tattoos have become like pierced ears for guys in the 70's and 80's versus now. The more that folks get them, the less of a "scandal" to the point where, why should I care? I do have a tendency to stare when I see what looks like an interesting tattoo but I can't quite figure it out. That'll probably get me in trouble some day.

[onehappyunicorn]

Working in the visual arts it's unusual when we have a faculty member or instructor who does not have a tattoo of one kind or another. I personally have no interest but I am definitely an exception.

[Wahoo Redux]

What about wearing a MAGA hat?

Ah Marshzilla, ever hoping for the hypocrisy and "indoctrination" to rear. 

I have had many a MAGA hat and T-shirt, and once even Trump tennis shoes, in my classes; the laces passed through the eyeballs of the printed Trump on the fabric, so I am not sure what these shoes represented.  I have had several "Trump is a great businessman and that makes him a great president" papers, and I grade them on their facts and citations----which are often flimsy.

I would feel exactly the same about MAGA tattoos---which I am sure are a thing somewhere.  Random butterfly, skull, or Tweety Bird, whatever; MAGA tat, badly informed cult dolt.

Privately, I think these people are misinformed dolts; publicly and professionally I say nothing whatsoever.

But keep digging!!!  You never know.  Maybe you'll get lucky.

[Caracal]

So a

I have no idea how having a tattoo would affect the job search today. I assume that all tattoos are not equal. A prominent face tattoo is still more taboo than a discrete tattoo on one's inside wrist. I would imagine that a prominent swastika or SS ruins tattoo would still be bad for one's job prospects, but not necessarily because it is a tattoo per se.
   

My impression of extensive body art, including tattoos and piercings, is that part of what it is intended to convey is a willingness to defy conventional expectations. (People are free to disagree on that, but I'd be surprised if my opinion isn't shared by many other people.) If I'm hiring someone, such as a TA, I don't care if they disagree with my teaching philosophy, or my grading scheme, or my deadlines, but I need them to follow them while they are working for me. For that reason, any indication that I'm going to have justify everything I ask to their satisfaction is going to make me pass on hiring. (If they've taken a course from me, and have shown their willingness to follow the rules and check all of the boxes for me, then there's no problem.)

Yikes!  You are willing to assume that 1/3 of the US population is unsuitable to work for you because, clutching my pearls, ink indicates they won't follow the rules! 

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/08/15/32-of-americans-have-a-tattoo-including-22-who-have-more-than-one/

Note my highlighting of the word "extensive". Someone with a butterfly on their wrist is a lot different than someone who looks like a cast member from "Road Warrior". (That illustrates my point; there's a reason certain movies have characters with EXTENSIVE body art, including ink and multiple piercings on their faces.)

Were I inclined to get a tattoo, it would be wise to keep in mind that there are people who still have these views about them. Even in academia, outside of art/dance/theatre, I would not want to interview with visible tattoos if I could help it. Would it matter? Probably not, but obviously there are still people who have negative associations and its one of those things that can only hurt. Once you had a job in academia, it's mostly not something that would matter, but I'm sure there are still industries and places where a tattoo would still cause someone problems. I'd assume people take this stuff into account along with their clothing preferences. It will be a cold day in hell before I wear shorts to a class so I could have anything I wanted tattooed on my legs and nobody at work would ever know. On the other hand, when I get warm I really want to roll up my sleeves and would find it pretty annoying if I had to not do that to avoid showing forearm tattoos.

[marshwiggle]

Privately, I think these people are misinformed dolts; publicly and professionally I say nothing whatsoever.

You've expressed it beautifully. People will get impressions of people from how they present themselves, whether they state them publicly or not.

This is why historically people have been "conservative" in how they present themselves. People who choose to wear their politics and preferences either figuratively or literally on their sleeves are extremely naive (or just completely disingenuous) to suggest that the information will have no effect on how they are perceived by others.

[Caracal]

Privately, I think these people are misinformed dolts; publicly and professionally I say nothing whatsoever.

You've expressed it beautifully. People will get impressions of people from how they present themselves, whether they state them publicly or not.

This is why historically people have been "conservative" in how they present themselves. People who choose to wear their politics and preferences either figuratively or literally on their sleeves are extremely naive (or just completely disingenuous) to suggest that the information will have no effect on how they are perceived by others.

Sure, but what "conservative" means isn't fixed. Not that long ago, a full beard on a man was seen as unusual and transgressive in many circles. Now, it's totally unremarkable and about the only job you would need to shave a beard for is playing for the Yankees.

[Wahoo Redux]

Privately, I think these people are misinformed dolts; publicly and professionally I say nothing whatsoever.

You've expressed it beautifully. People will get impressions of people from how they present themselves, whether they state them publicly or not.

This is why historically people have been "conservative" in how they present themselves. People who choose to wear their politics and preferences either figuratively or literally on their sleeves are extremely naive (or just completely disingenuous) to suggest that the information will have no effect on how they are perceived by others.

Ummm...yeah.  I don't think that is a very controversial statement.

The same can be said of "fundy" clothing, of course, or people who wear crosses on necklaces or "Jesus Saves" T-shirts, or even people who dress "conservatively."

There are plenty of critics of people have been "conservative" in how they present themselves.

[marshwiggle]

Privately, I think these people are misinformed dolts; publicly and professionally I say nothing whatsoever.

You've expressed it beautifully. People will get impressions of people from how they present themselves, whether they state them publicly or not.

This is why historically people have been "conservative" in how they present themselves. People who choose to wear their politics and preferences either figuratively or literally on their sleeves are extremely naive (or just completely disingenuous) to suggest that the information will have no effect on how they are perceived by others.

Ummm...yeah.  I don't think that is a very controversial statement.

The same can be said of "fundy" clothing, of course, or people who wear crosses on necklaces or "Jesus Saves" T-shirts, or even people who dress "conservatively."

There are plenty of critics of people have been "conservative" in how they present themselves.

I put quotes around "conservative" because my point wasn't about a particular political viewpoint. Perhaps a better word would have been "neutral" or "understated". What I was trying to get at is that it used to be well understood that people get along by not expressing all kinds of views which others may not share but which are totally irrelevant to the task they have to collaborate on. Many people now turn that whole idea on its head, and express all kinds of views, and just expect other people to treat them as irrelevant to the task they have to collaborate on.

It is an extremely optimistic view, especially for anyone who has any knowledge of how much unconscious bias affects all kinds of actions and decisions people make everyday. And unconscious bias is exactly that; it's the bias that exists even when people are trying to be completely fair. Potentially stacking the deck against yourself is an odd choice.

[Wahoo Redux]

Potentially stacking the deck against yourself is an odd choice.

I think the point is, Marshbird, that you have a very particular viewpoint that you believe most everyone else shares, and it is a conservative viewpoint.  As Caracal points out, what would "stack the deck" at one point in time may no longer "stack the deck."  I think tats are one of those things; they are just too ubiquitous to be offensive to most people.  Anyway, people who get Nazi tattoos are not going to be worried about working on Wall Street or in the Ivory Tower----these folks have a different life agenda in mind.