37. "To Tattoo Or Not To Tattoo In Academia?"
- Bianca Blanch
- Nov 13, 2020
- 5 min read
We are researchers, but we are also people with our own interests outside of work. If we want to get tattooed, it should not impact on our work prospects, but I think it does. This is my experience of being a tattooed academic.
My Experience of Tattoos And Academia
I am a female, an academic and a tattoo enthusiast. At times these identities have had difficulty co-existing.
I was 18 years and 3 days old when I got my first tattoo. Now I have five.
Before I was a post-doc my decision to get tattoos never impacted on getting a job because I chose to tattoo body parts you do not expose at work (lower back, ribs and thigh/hip). I love my tattoos, each of them have a very specific meaning for me. So even if I am no longer in love with the design, or the tattoo needs to be touched up n places, the meaning shines through whenever I look at them.
Although my tattoos have never been an issue in my career, they have always been on my mind. I constantly worried whether management at the conservative research institute I worked at would change their opinion of me if they found out I was tattooed. Like somehow this was a signal that I was playing a role, and I actually wasn't actually good at my job.
Writing these words now, this seems very wrong. How can ink on your body change your job competency? But this was the fear I lived in.
One day I accepted the fear and moved on, not caring if they found out I had tattoos. The cause of this change was my partner. He was heavily tattooed; both sleeves (entire arms), feet, he was basically covered from his hips to his neck front, back and sides. The only places he didn't have tattoos was on his legs, hands, neck, and face. I realised after most people met him they asked me if I had any tattoos, they simply assumed two tattooed people would date.
They were right.
Then I realised, most of my colleagues had met my partner so they have already likely assumed that I also have tattoos and no one has ever asked me about it. So if their perception of me changed, it had already happened and I couldn't change it.
This realisation was liberating. So I no longer cared and let go of the fear/worry. Now, if I am getting along with a colleague, I will often tell them about my tattoos. If they want to treat me differently, then no worries, it's better to know upfront if someone has an issue with tattoos.
I think one of my fears centred from the question, how would the patient's react? In multiple research roles I have interviewed participants, including patients with a mental health condition, incarcerated persons, medical doctors and victims of crime. If I was in a role where I never interviewed people, then maybe the workplace wouldn't care about tattoos and I would have had more courage to get my tattoos earlier.
By the time I had the realisation of most people assuming I had tattoos, I had been immersed in tattoo culture for a while. I watched a lot of reality tattoo shows including Miami Ink, LA Ink, Tattoo Nightmares, Ink Master and went to tattoo conventions. There was a tattoo parlour down the road and we regularly hung out with the artists. I love tattoos, the art people choose to put on their body's is beautiful. I don't love every tattoo I have ever seen, but I do respect the person for choosing to make it a permanent feature of their body.
Being immersed in tattoo culture, I remember going to academic conferences and being envious of people who had their sleeves done. In health research, the tattooed ones were generally male, and worked in the drug and alcohol sector. I really wanted to get a sleeve done, that would be colourful and fun. One of the main reasons why I didn't was because I was at the beginning of my career and didn't know how it might impact on my job prospects. I thought it would make me seem unprofessional. Also, my partner was not supportive of it. Even though he was heavily tattooed he said it was 'different for girls'.
When I finished my PhD, I was in my early 30s and decided it was time to get a visible tattoo. I don't know if the 'Dr' title gave me the confidence to get the tattoo and not worry about whether I would be taken seriously. Or whether I reached some clarity during the PhD where I felt more comfortable being myself and realised being curious is a core part of my identity. Or I simply didn't care what other people thought.
Regardless of the reason, I decided to get the word 'Curiouser' tattooed in aqua in a Disney style font on the inside of my left wrist. (My other visible tattoo is my eyeliner, which I don't really count as visible as most people think it is simply makeup that I apply each day).
But I can't say that old fear and anxiety completely disappeared. I got the tattoo AFTER being offered a post-doc position, but BEFORE actually starting to work there. I figured, I've already got the job, they can't fire me if I get this.
The Lessons Of Being A Tattooed Academic
I don't really have any lessons this week.
Only you can decide whether you want to get tattooed. And where to put it. You are the master of your destiny.
Tattoos are simply an expression of who you are. A tattoo is the commitment of a lifetime, whereas a job is a much shorter commitment. So if you want to get tattooed, do it. (But I am biased, as I love tattoos.) It is much more important to be true to who you are then to try to fit in with a workplace. And if you get tattooed, you will likely find a workplace that accepts you and your tattoos.
If you get tattooed, you may have some negative reactions. I believe the world is changing, but it may count against you in some cultures and workplaces. If you are worried about it, don't get your neck, face or hands tattooed, then you can always cover them up. But it would suck to think you work at a place that judges you based on your appearance rather than your skillset and performance.
What do the academics say?
I asked tattooed academics what their experience was, and see their response on this Twitter link below.
Overall, the majority of tattooed academics do not think their tattoos negatively impacted on their career. A few academics experienced a negative comments but most said having tattoos facilitated conversations between colleagues and students. I am glad in our collective experience, academia appears quite accepting of tattoos. However, many academics acknowledged the area of research, including how common tattoos are in that area and geographical location of the research, may directly impact on the tattooed academics experience.
Are you tattooed? Have had positive or negative experiences due to being a tattooed academic? Do you use your tattoos as an ice breaker to invite conversation? Let me know your experience by leaving a comment below or emailing me at AuthenticResearchExperiences@gmail.com
BB
Photo by Allef Vinicius on Unsplash
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