Tattoos and body piercing have been an issue in the workplace since they became popular among young rebels in the 1950s- 1960s. In 1990s body art had became mainstream and more social accepted, sort of. Today, getting inked and getting piercing is becoming more and more mainstream. ” About half of people in their 20s have either a tattoo or a body piercing other than traditional earrings,” according to a study, published in June in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. I think tattoos and body piercing are a personal choice. It’s your body and you should be responsible for what you do with it. And beware that it can cost you a job. I worked with the National Park Service, downtown at the Alaska Public Lands Information Center. It was a federal job. They saw my ears were stretched in the interview but that didn’t stop me from getting hired. I was hired, but I wore “plugs” in my ears, so it’s not that noticeable that my ears were stretched to 5/8ths gauge. Also when I got my septum pierced, I had it pierced with a “retainer” a staple- shaped piece of jewelry, that can flipped up in the nose. So I was prepared to cover up my piercing while on the job. It’s what everyone should beware of, but if I worked at Hot Topic or Mammoth Music that would be different type of work environment where I would not need to cover up my piercing. I don’t think tattoos and piercing should be a problem in the workplace. If the employer has a dress code laid out, then you should abide by it, and be prepared to cover up your tattoos and piercing. Dimond senior Cierra Wheeler said that at the time of the interview if a prospective employer sees how you look, if you have any ink or metal and they do not say anything about it, or anything about covering up your tattoos/ piercing if you get the job, it should not be a problem. “They hire you for your work ethic, not what’s on your body,” Wheeler said. Wheeler also had a first-hand experience on this issue. She is a former employee at Toys R Us and her boss asked her to put a different type of jewelry in her stretched ears, something more family friendly, instead of her ” hollows” she had in her ears. Wheeler did what her boss asked her to do; she did not fight her for it. She worked as a cashier and understood that having large hole in your ears can drive away business. She just put in “plugs” and the problem was fixed. Dimond senior Marlon Uri said,” It shouldn’t matter,” employers shouldn’t care what someone looks like just as long as they have the talent and skills. That is true; a recent study has said that, more and more bosses are not as strict about their employees having tattoos and body piercing in hopes not of driving away young, fresh talent. On the other end of the spectrum, some employers may not hire you because you have a tattoo or body modifications, because it is not professional. Let’s say you want to work in a law office or a doctor’s office. Having those things is not appropriate in the environment you are working in, so of course, you have to face it that some people will never change their view on having tattoos and piercing. It’s their business or company, and you have to play by their rules. On that note, I need to address this again. It is personal choice to get a tattoo and body modifications done, and you are responsible for the pros and cons that come with having them. I don’t think have tattoos or body piercing should be a issue in the work place. It is your duty to be able to cover up or hide it, when you are in a job where clearly it is written out that you cannot have them.