I overheard a conversation between a mother and son at the gas station yesterday. It struck me as odd, but at the same time it was really familiar. It's amazing what a couple decades can do to a person's outlook.
Here's the scenario:
A teenage boy is talking with his mom while she is paying for his gas. She is telling him that she wants him to be safe and be good, stuff like that. During this talk she says that she doesn't want to see him getting any piercings or tattoos because it will ruin his future and his chances at being a success. Meanwhile, I am standing on the other side of the same pump with a lip ring in, listening to this whole exchange happen. The boy appeases his mother by saying he understands and they part ways soon after.
There was a part of me that wanted to interject and let the boy know that even though I am a tattooed and pierced "outcast", I make quite a decent salary at a job that is professional and successful. It made me chuckle listening to the mom be so "suburban" in a time such as this. When I think about all of my friends that I grew up with who now have tattoos and piercing, yet still have successful careers it just makes me laugh a little. According to this woman we would probably all be seen as tattooed and pierced freaks of society that contribute nothing and waste resources . . . or something like that.
Here's what I envision she is thinking while she is talking to her son:
Here is what is standing on the other side of the gas pump from her:
Overall it honestly doesn't make a difference how we choose to modify our bodies, if we do at all. What matters is what we do with who we are. People can determine their own preconceived notions about me all they want, but if they really want to know who I am they just need to talk to me. If my piercings and tattoos scare them off, then I probably don't want to talk to them anyways.
It was like I stepped into a time machine and went back to when I was a teenager. The whole incident surprised me how much the place I grew up in has stayed the same over the years, despite how much I have changed.
Keep an open mind and see what happens :).
P.S. Here's another pic of a beautiful tattooed and pierced woman - for sticking with me on this journey (and because I thought she was pretty)
Mike's mum still doesn't approve of tattoo's or piercings... I think it's still a generation thing because some kids do go all crazy like the picture you posted and if you want to work in corporate America, you kind of have to play it safe.
ReplyDeleteThat being said.... it all depends on what you want to do ... and how extreme you want to go.. if the two jive.. great! if not.. well then, I guess the circus is always hiring.
I have "corporate" tattoos which I can cover up, but sometimes even I wear things that show them, plus I wear my lip ring everyday. When I got my tattoos I thought about where they would be placed, but since then more jobs have become less strict about them.
ReplyDeleteI also know a bunch of people in industries that allow tattoos and piercings, or they are self-employed. I do know a lot of artsy people though :).
I only know a few people these days that don't have tattoos or piercings, which was totally opposite when I was growing up. I even overheard a guy in a crowd once who said he would only date girls who DIDN'T have tattoos. Times, ah how they change :).
I admit, I find it funny when people say stuff like that - it's like when they talk about how unattractive tattoos will look when you're 80. As though if you don't get tattoos your skin's going to be pink and blemish-less in 60 years!
ReplyDeleteIt's your body, and you can do what you want with it. Piercings/tattoos/body mods/whatever doesn't change your ability to perform your job.
ReplyDeleteBut. . . playing devil's advocate for a moment. . . it WILL limit your entry into some positions just by virtue of some business's corporate environment.
MY company, for example, sends employees home for open-toed shoes, only allows jeans one day a month, and limits attire to the "dress code". Places like that (ahem. . . this) won't give some people the time of day; won't even allow them to establish that they are THE bee's knees of employees because they can't get past the body mods.
Their loss? Absolutely. . . but also HIS loss, if that was his dream job and he couldn't get his foot in the front door because some asshole couldn't see past a tribal or a eyebrow piercing etc.
Meh. I came here from "It's so Fuzzy". . . the "Versatile Blogger" nominee. . .
Thanks for coming to my blog and taking a look :). I've been super busy with performances, but I see I will need to post something soon.
ReplyDeleteOn this topic - I myself have "corporate" tattoos because as much as I want them I also know I can be automatically dismissed because of them. I also have a lip ring that I wear, but have taken it out during work because they have not allowed any facial or other piercings. I work in a professional environment and have chosen to do so, but I also have been "unconventional" in getting tattoos and piercings. This conversation just struck me as funny because I remember having the same sort of conversation with my dad almost 20 years ago in the same neighborhood and it seems that nothing has changed.
I hope you'll all stick around and see what else I have to talk about. I appreciate the "look-see" at my little blog over here :).