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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To want a sleeve tattoo done on my arm?

310 replies

JellyDiamonds · 12/10/2014 13:00

Ive been looking at getting another tattoo done for a while now but have been unsure on what to get done and where. Whilst looking online for inspiration I've seen some amazing sleeve tattoos and have decided that I want one of them, the designs and artistry are amazing. I think that if they are done properly by decent tattoo artists then they are like works of art.

The thing is that everyone I've told about it has looked at me like I'm going mad. My mum was absolutely horrified, said that they are "revolting" and that I'll look like a sailor. But I don't think I will, I saw a photo on Facebook of a friend of a friend and she had a floral sleeve on her arm and yet still managed to look feminine. Not that I'm particularly feminine and girly anyway, but the point I'm trying to make is that not all sleeve designs are for blokes who start fights in pubs which what my mum was clearly trying to get at.

Should I just bite the bullet and go for it?

OP posts:
dustarr73 · 13/10/2014 18:14

So if you had 2 people at a job interview.You would give it to the person without tattoos even if they were not as qualified.That makes sense.[hmmm].

You know people can have tattoos without having mad coloured hair or 14 piercing they are not mutually exclusive.

Nanny0gg · 13/10/2014 18:20

Yes, pretty much. Threads like this always bring out the mouth-breathers.

Beyond rude.

The OP asked for opinions which she can follow or ignore as she chooses.

I hate tattoos. I judge. And one of my DC has them. I cried the first time I saw the first one. Thank god they can be covered up and as a general rule I don't have to see them. That's how much I hate them. My opinion, I'm entitled to it and I'll share it if I'm asked.

So if you had 2 people at a job interview. You would give it to the person without tattoos even if they were not as qualified.That makes sense

I assumed the poster meant that if they were equally qualified the one without visible tattoos would get the job.

combust22 · 13/10/2014 18:22

Why deliberately limit your job prospects?

LittleBearPad · 13/10/2014 18:23

Especially if it were a customer facing role, receptionist etc.

YackityYakYak · 13/10/2014 18:24

Dustarr - if it was a choice between two roughly equally qualified people, probably yes.

If one was not as qualified, probably not.

If they had the common sense to cover their tattoos and I only spotted the tattoo by accident, then I would respect them for understanding that not everyone likes tattoos and being willing to 'play the game' as it were. If they had come in with a tattoo on their arm, and wore a short sleeved shirt/top then I would question their judgment on that and would wonder in what other way their judgment would be questionable.

I would treat mad coloured hair and piercings in a similar fashion - although I'm not quite sure how you would hide them..... unless they are somewhere I should NEVER see!!!

I suspect for most positions you would get several people just as qualified though.

combust22 · 13/10/2014 18:25

I have had jobs that I would not have been offered if I had a tattoo.

googoodolly · 13/10/2014 18:29

I have a customer facing job in retail and have tattoos, as do a huge number of my colleages. I also have piercings (multiple in ears, plus nose) and it was never an issue in interview, nor has it been an issue with promotion for other colleages.

I have managers with multiple piercings and visible tattoos. It doesn't make them bad managers or bad at their jobs.

Scarletohello · 13/10/2014 18:29

When I was a teenager frilly shirts, rara skirts, legwarmers and crimped hair were the height of fashion. I'm nearly 50 and I'd look pretty ridiculous if I was wearing that now wouldn't I?

Think about it, a tattoo is FOREVER...

LilAnnieAmphetamine · 13/10/2014 18:31

The reason why some Japanese establishments ban tats is because of their association with the Yakuza. Full sleeves (and indeed full body) tats are a Yakuza thing.

I understand commemorative tats but the other kinds suggest to me a person who is rather fixed and cannot imagine themselves, their tastes, style or personality evolving past the point in time when they had it done. How many of us keep the same clothing, make up, curtains and interior decor over a lifetime? And as for the 'being different' thing, NOT having one is the cooler, more individual thing now it would seem.

SirChenjin · 13/10/2014 18:32

You wouldn't offer a job to a lesser qualified person simply because they didn't have a tattoo - but it's not often that you have a candidate who is exceptional while the others are rubbish, it tends to be more of a level playing field.

combust22 · 13/10/2014 18:33

googoodolly- I can assure you that in many arenas of the business world tattoos are not acceptable.

SirChenjin · 13/10/2014 18:33

goo - what type of retail is it?

Bunbaker · 13/10/2014 18:37

I can't imagine a sales assistant in M & S being allowed to have visible tattoos.

A lot of businesses are either very conservative or have conservative customers so some companies probably wouldn't employ someone with visible tattoos. I work with a lot of people with tattoos, but we aren't customers facing so it doesn't matter. None of our account executives have visible tattoos or piercings though.

googoodolly · 13/10/2014 18:37

Well, I don't want a job in the business world, so I guess it's not an issue - plus mine is coverable as it's on my upper back.

Sir in a supermarket. The only policy is no hand/face/neck tattoos and no facial piercings except a discreet nose stud. There's no limit on ear piercings so long as the jewellery is discreet (ie. studs or sleepers). I have ten piercings in mine and it's never been an issue.

FindoGask · 13/10/2014 18:38

"Beyond rude.

The OP asked for opinions which she can follow or ignore as she chooses."

If your opinion is that people who like tattoos are somehow lacking in moral character, then I reserve my right to call you a mouth-breather. Otherwise, stand down, because I wasn't talking about you. It's not a problem to me if people don't like tattoos, as I explained at length - it's just that I don't see why it should matter to anyone else that I do.

LilAnnieAmphetamine · 13/10/2014 18:39

If I was interviewing people for a post in a highly creative industry, a candidate with tats might make me think they were not as original, flexible and creative in their outlook on life- their being seemingly less nable to imagine a time when their tastes would change would be a big question mark hanging over them.

YackityYakYak · 13/10/2014 18:39

It would also depend on what sort of job, clearly.

Say it was a nanny - absolutely would not hire them with visible tattoos, piercings or outrageous hair. But then neither I would not hire someone who had an obvious accent or any speech impediments as my children are young and one of them needs assistance in that area. At the same time I probably wouldn't hire a vegetarian because I would like the nanny to eat with the children, and to prepare meals that include meat. I would prefer to avoid hiring a strong atheist, or someone with strong religious beliefs that weren't Christian, and I wouldn't hire a fundamental Christian either - someone with laid back beliefs would be fine though.

In other words, the nanny would be chosen to fit in with us, our lifestyle, and our beliefs. But that is because of the time they would spend with my children, in my home.

Someone hired to design and run my internet page, couldn't care what they looked like. They could have tattoos, piercings AND brightly coloured hair and I wouldn't bat an eye.

Personal assistant for my DH, who needs to meet and greet influential people, no visible tattoos, visible piercings, bright coloured hair, accents etc wouldn't phase me as long as they didn't interfere with the job.

Person colouring my hair - would choose someone with the sort of look I like. Mistakenly went to a salon once where all the staff had the super blonde hair, and my highlights ended up the same shade of super blonde even though I specifically asked for golden blonde, that was far darker than theirs. Felt like a misplaced surfer for months....

So you see it all depends on what sort of position I am looking for someone for.

SirChenjin · 13/10/2014 18:39

Ok - so no visible tattoos or facial piercings. ...pretty much what has been said of business dress code? Grin

LilAnnieAmphetamine · 13/10/2014 18:40

WHAT is a mouth breather?

I am not the first person to request a definition of this.

googoodolly · 13/10/2014 18:41

No, they can be visible - we wear short-sleeved shirts in summer and plenty of people have arm tattoos and full sleeves.

FindoGask · 13/10/2014 18:41

I'm sure you can google, LilAnnie, when you're not busy thinking up new ways to be snide.

LittleBearPad · 13/10/2014 18:42

When I worked in a supermarket, Sainsburys, we weren't even allowed clear nail varnish. Times appear to have changed.

SirChenjin · 13/10/2014 18:43

Mouth breather is someone who is so thick that they've never learned to breathe through their nose. It's derogatory meaning stupid, ignorant, dumb, uneducated.

LittleBearPad · 13/10/2014 18:44

Or you could just answer Findo rather than be pa.

I have no idea either but I do have a vision of a host of car mechanics gearing up to say it'll be expensive.

YackityYakYak · 13/10/2014 18:44

mouthbreather

  1. literally, someone who lacks enough intelligence that they never learned to breathe through their nose.
  1. a really dumb person.

Quite ironic that this came from someone who genuinely believes that having loads of tattoos doesn't affect a person's employability....