Tattoos and the Grad Life

[warpspeed]

Hi all!

I'm an applicant stil but I've been wondering this for a while. I have some visible tattoos (elbows and bicep, behind my ear, backs of my ankles, tops of my feet plus a few others that would never be visible in a professional setting) that show when I'm wearing a dress. Should I be super concerned about keeping these covered during annual meetings, etc? I plan on keeping my arms covered ( I have lots of professional sweaters ) however, should I just confine myself to long slacks to cover? What about to classes? I'm in anthropology-archaeology, which I know in the grand scheme is relatively laid back. A potential advisor actually complemented my stretched ears and tattoos (although our main research interests are body modification in ancient civilizations, so I suppose I'm just practicing what i preach). I've never had a problem before and planned on just wearing semi sheer tights when I wear dresses (which is professional anyway to not have bare legs), but should I be going opaque or bust?

[rachaelski]

I'd guess that in your field of study it wouldn't be a big deal. I am in education in the Southwest, and it's not really a big deal here. My advice is to feel it out as you go. If you are at a national conference, dress more conservatively than you would normally (it's always cold at conferences, wear a cardigan).

[anthropologygeek]

It is a huge deal in the anthropology/archeology field. If you have tattoos you are recommended to hide them. I have seen people at conferences with visible tattoos not get introduced to certain people by their adviser based on this. Its embarrassing for all parties if you have visible tattoos based on the unprofessional attitude it provides. Luckily I have no tattoos but a lot of my friends do, and they cover them up for every conference they attend. Also most of them will cover up their tattoos for school based on wanted to only portray the upmost professionalism they can. However, for department functions like bbq or christmas parties they don't cover their tattoos.

[robot_hamster]

I have never heard of this, but I don't have any tattoos either. I guess it would depend on your school and whether or not you're in a professional setting (like a conference). I see people with tattoos and piercings all the time at school and I think they are pretty laid back about it. I will also point out that I am a TA and they don't require me to dress "professionally" while in the classroom.So if they don't care that I am wearing jeans, I doubt they would care if I had a tattoo.

Edited January 18, 2011 by robot_hamster

[warpspeed]

It is a huge deal in the anthropology/archeology field. If you have tattoos you are recommended to hide them. I have seen people at conferences with visible tattoos not get introduced to certain people by their adviser based on this. Its embarrassing for all parties if you have visible tattoos based on the unprofessional attitude it provides. Luckily I have no tattoos but a lot of my friends do, and they cover them up for every conference they attend. Also most of them will cover up their tattoos for school based on wanted to only portray the upmost professionalism they can. However, for department functions like bbq or christmas parties they don't cover their tattoos.

thanks, i was hoping you might see this. i was assuming i would be hiding them/covering regardless for larger things like SAAs and AAAs, etc.I was wondering more on like a going to class basis, meeting with my adviser, etc basis. i find it overwhelmingly ironic (though unsurprising) that anthropology has such a strict attitude about these sorts of things. A long sleeve button down with the sleeves at 3/4 and dress pants covers everything so it won't be hard!

[Archaeo_Anon]

Several people in my cohort have visible tattoos (and a variety of facial piercings), as do a few others in my department. On a day-to-day basis they get no comment whatsoever from any faculty, staff, or students. It's generally a good idea to cover them at conferences and in the field if it's reasonably simple to do so, but if you're worried about just being out and about on campus or meeting with your advisor...don't be.

That said, I don't think it's fair to say it's a "huge deal" across the board for conferences and the like. It's going to depend a lot on who's in the in-group in your specialty. If most of the people are more conservative, by all means, play it conservative if you want to make a good impression on them. If most of the people are completely blase about that kind of thing, they'll appreciate your effort to cover up, but it may come across as a little silly depending on the context. My particular area of specialization is quite new, so the people who participate in it tend to be younger and less concerned with visible tattoos and the like. I would certainly consider removing the jewelry in my piercings (I don't have any tattoos) for presenting at a big conference to a wider audience, but to gatherings of people just within my specialization it's pretty much a non-issue.

[hupr]

I can't speak to Anthropology departments, but I've taught in a couple of humanities departments in Europe and the Middle East (both of which are more conservative about this sort of thing than the US) and have never had a problem with visible tattoos or piercings. I also have a friend with full sleeves who teaches in a sociology department in the US and has never had any problems either. It's actually kind of surprising to me to hear that Anthropology departments would have a problem with it.

[StrangeLight]

i'm in a history department. a lot of the ladies have tattoos, myself included. none of the men do, oddly enough.

the general practice is to not hide tattoos for class or meetings with advisors. i also don't hide my tattoos when i teach but i know a few of the other females do. absolutely cover the tattoos for conferences, job talks, visiting scholars' talks, defenses, overviews, that sort of thing. i'd also recommend covering the tats for the first month or two in your first semester. let the professors establish their opinion on your intelligence before you give them the opportunity to (unfairly) judge your appearance.

regarding conferences, however... when i attended the caribbean studies association conference last year, i'd say that the vast majority of female graduate students were heavily tattooed. not a little thing on their hips or ankles but large back pieces, sleeves, shoulders, chest pieces, etc. all of these were extremely visible because most people were walking around in bathing suits and cover-ups (we were in barbados). so the rigid attitude towards tattoos will have to change eventually, or no one's going to be hiring women for caribbean history, lit, sociology, anthropology, etc. in a few years.

a friend of mine, in an engineering program, is heavily tattooed. nothing on his forearms, but above the elbow, he's covered. legs are covered. he just got a chestpiece done that shows above the collar of his shirt if he doesn't do up the top button. when he got to his program, he trimmed his giant beard to a manageable size, put away the horn-rimmed glasses, and wore sweaters and khakis. after a few months, he was back in cargo pants, doom metal shirts, with the long beard and tattoos exposed. people act like they're afraid of him now, apparently. some talk of whether or not he's an ex-con. heh.

[KRC]

It is a huge deal in the anthropology/archeology field. If you have tattoos you are recommended to hide them. I have seen people at conferences with visible tattoos not get introduced to certain people by their adviser based on this. Its embarrassing for all parties if you have visible tattoos based on the unprofessional attitude it provides. Luckily I have no tattoos but a lot of my friends do, and they cover them up for every conference they attend. Also most of them will cover up their tattoos for school based on wanted to only portray the upmost professionalism they can. However, for department functions like bbq or christmas parties they don't cover their tattoos.

Egads! Something tells me this may have more to do with your personal opinion than the picture of the academic climate you're painting, no?

I wouldn't go around forcing everyone to accept you for the unique butterfly you are by refusing to wear anything but tank tops at all times, but my thought is that if you go out of your way to make yourself feel awkward, this will transfer to those around you, and thus play it by ear. If you somehow "know" that tattoos will get you fired instantly, than you might want to think about covering up. It's not the end of the world. But I don't believe its anything like the above poster made it out to be, especially since he/she "luckily" has no tattoos.

[KRC]

a friend of mine, in an engineering program, is heavily tattooed. nothing on his forearms, but above the elbow, he's covered. legs are covered. he just got a chestpiece done that shows above the collar of his shirt if he doesn't do up the top button. when he got to his program, he trimmed his giant beard to a manageable size, put away the horn-rimmed glasses, and wore sweaters and khakis. after a few months, he was back in cargo pants, doom metal shirts, with the long beard and tattoos exposed. people act like they're afraid of him now, apparently. some talk of whether or not he's an ex-con. heh.

There's nothing wrong with creating a little distance between oneself and those that would be scared of someones appearance enough to speculate on their history of felonious activity!

[poco_puffs]

so the rigid attitude towards tattoos will have to change eventually, or no one's going to be hiring women for caribbean history, lit, sociology, anthropology, etc. in a few years.

I think this will be the case in the long run. There will always be a spectrum of professional to nonprofessional, as far as I can see, and there probably is a range of body modification style and subject matter that might warrant covering vs. non-covering, but I don't see how "dress codes" could so completely crystallize as to not expand to include the gradual acceptance of piercings and tattoos.

I have a nose ring, which my parents and a few friends were worried about damaging my professional image. While my department has been far less modded than I expected, the nose ring has been no problem at all. I won't be taking this thing out until *I* feel like taking it out. Until then, it's part of my face. Plus, it requires pliers to remove, and I'm just not doing that for every class session and conference.

What you said earlier about being discrete about body mods for a while and THEN letting people judge you seems like a pretty safe but also honest way of going about things for a few years-- at least until things change or we develop reputations for our intellect and professionalism that precede reputations about our superficial appearance.

[StrangeLight]

the CSA is a great organization and conference. the session in barbados was really incredible. all of the panels offered up such interesting work, either by established scholars or innovative grad students, and people are pretty laid back. i highly recommend making the CSA a stop on your conference list at some point.

we had a professor come to our program for a job talk last week. he had a lot of ear piercings, a couple facial piercings (only left the nose ring in, but you could see the holes), and at least a tattoo on his wrist. everything else stayed covered. there was some debate over his appearance, but not for the tats or the piercings. the concern was that, when some profs ran into him at the AHA, he was wearing chuck taylors and jeans, and on his skype/phone interview, he was dressed rather casually. maybe i'm naive, but i tend to think that as long as the stuff you can change (clothing, piercings, hair/make-up) is professional when it needs to be, people don't care about the stuff you can't change (tattoos, the holes where the piercings once were).

[warpspeed]

Yeah. I can't really do anything about my ears (they're stretched to 3/4", but the contour is still relatively natural) but honestly, most of my extended family still hasn't noticed and I've had them for 7 years. I look extremely presentable when everything's covered, and even when its not. My u/g adviser hasn't seen my arms yet but he knows about my ears, etc and has never seemed bothered. My field school teacher saw me in shorts around the field house and knows i have arm tattoos and didn't make mention of it. I like the idea of playing it safe and letting people judge me on my ability first and my appearance later and I'll probably take that advice.

Also, anthropologygeek, I read through your post a second time. There's nothing "lucky" about not having any tattoos or body modification, I'm not a stray dog that got tattooed by the pound. We all make decisions that are right for ourselves

Edited January 19, 2011 by warpspeed

[tauren]

I have plenty of tattoos and would like to get more. In my department it doesn't matter so much,but I try to hide them for conferences but I don't go out of my way. For example I went to several conferences in warm locations and I wasn't going to wear long sleeve shirts and have a heat stroke to hide my wrist tattoo. Facial piercings a bit different (nose and a creative array on the ears is okay) but I think thats more so due to my specific area and how we do research. Don't want to scare the kiddies' parents away or elderly people away when you are trying to do research with them.

[anthropologygeek]

Im sorry if a lot of people don't like my previous post, but it is the truth. Reason why most people with the tattoos don't see it is because the academic field is full of two face people. They would never say something to the individual but professors behind their back talk plenty. I was privilege on a few conferences to be including in this. Professors ridicule other professors for allowing their students to be unprofessional like piercing, having tattoos, how they act, and/or how they dress. Mind you I have only been to the big very formal conferences but I figure everyone on here would have the goal of working for a big university if you went into academics. Also, I am sorry if you fell I'm cool since I have tattoos and no one will stop me for this. I know plenty of those people in previous programs and current programs. They never/don't knew/know what is said about them but if it came down to two people from the program applying, professors would write a very strong recommendation for the professional one and an average recommendation for the unprofessional one. Just be professional at conferences and don't embarrass professors. If you have sleeve tats so what wear a long sleeve at formal events. I know my friends who cover them up for class might be overkill but they dont want their tats affecting their lives in later life.

As for my lucky I don't have tats comment, I meant no disrespect. Why I said I felt lucky is because when I was 18 I almost got an ugly, non-coverable tat and to this day I dont know why I didn't get it but I am thanlful my 18 year old self made the decision not to get it. I know I would of hated it from the second I got it. So for me it was lucky, for others it is a personal decision and one that I know a lot of people think a lot about it before they get it. And I didn't mean to imply someone was unlucky if they have a tat. Just me I would of gotten it for the wrong reasons and thus I am lucky I didn't get it.

[StrangeLight]

i would imagine that professors are more concerned with whether their students and colleagues can write grammatically correct coherent sentences than if they have visible tattoos.

[samjones]

i'm in an anth program with visible piercings that are and are not gauged and tattoos. my partner has been in a science grad program and now a social science grad program with piercings and tattoos. neither of us seem to have had any discriminatory experiences because of the tattoos and piercings. i'm just starting my program and didn't go through an MA program so i can't be expected to have many profession-building experiences besides program events and those have gone great. a prof that i already look up to introduces me to lots of people and the only thing that ever stands in my natworking-way seems to be my own nervousness. no one seems to be judging me based on anything. it's great! my partner has worked in her industry in government organizations and for her departments and does not want for opportunities, funding or support from her colleagues (students and profs as well as admin people with whom she works); she has earned lots of outside funding, positions, and support. this is anecdotal data but i think that's the best a bunch of students and prospectives would be able to give on the subject.

tldr, i can't say that the tattoos or piercings that my partner and i both sport have had any impact on our networking or success. she has been in grad school longer than me and has worked in her industries behind the scenes as well as in the scenes (conducting interviews and collecting data among the public) with no problem or warning to hide her body modifications. its anecdotal but in my experience, piercings and tattoos have not mattered.

Edited January 21, 2011 by samjones

[far_to_go]

I'm doing a Ph.D. in the Anthropology dept at a major Southern university, and I have to say that tattoos don't seem to be as big an issue in my department as anthropologygeek makes them out to be. I have a smallish one on my leg/ankle that is visible when I wear dresses, and since I often wear dresses to school, I know that my profs and fellow students have seen it many times. I've never gotten a single negative comment, and only a few positive comments- for the most part, it seems to pass entirely without comment. I also have a pierced nose, which has never drawn any commentary. Also, my department has been very supportive of me in terms of helping me apply for major grants, sending me to the AAA and other conferences, etc.

For what it's worth, two of the people in my cohort also have tattoos which are visible much of the time (including a wrist tat) and one has a hoop in her nose. I haven't noticed that it makes a shred of difference. We already had the tattoos/piercings when the department decided to admit us and give us large multi-year funding commitments, for goodness' sake. They interviewed all of us face-to-face. I'm sure if they had been worried about being 'embarrassed' by our appearance, they wouldn't have admitted us.

With all that being said, I do try to dress relatively professionally and project an image of myself as a future academic (I don't wear tank tops and flip flops to class, much as I sometimes might like to). However, I don't think that my tattoo and piercing detract significantly from that professional image, and I haven't gotten any feedback to the contrary.

[far_to_go]

Oh, I forgot to mention: one of our current ABDs did his fieldwork in Polynesia and has full-sleeve tattoos that were part of his initiation into his tribe. He has a good job waiting for him as soon as he finishes the last few chapters of the dissertation. It seems to me that, at least in anthro, tattoos might actually help your job prospects if they're a visual symbol of the fieldwork rite-of-passage.

[anthropologygeek]

i would imagine that professors are more concerned with whether their students and colleagues can write grammatically correct coherent sentences than if they have visible tattoos.

Your right, you must be professional in your work too. Luckily in real life I am. I have been doing a ton of research and I am tired when I get home. Sometimes I don't proof read an online message for an online forum.

[jakebarnes]

Your right, you must be professional in your work too. Luckily in real life I am. I have been doing a ton of research and I am tired when I get home. Sometimes I don't proof read an online message for an online forum.

You're in a PhD program and you still don't know the difference between your and you're?

[poco_puffs]

You're in a PhD program and you still don't know the difference between your and you're?

You've been lurking around these forums for four months just to make a thoroughly unnecessary grammar-nazi snark on a thread that had fairly well resolved itself two days prior?

Edited January 25, 2011 by poco_puffs

[Sarah S.]

I have seven tattoos, two of which are quite visible (wrist) and two of which could easily be visible (upper arm and my entire calf). I'm in an anthro department and my tattoos have not been a problem. All but one of my advisor's students have tattoos and they're all quite respected within the department and outside of the department. The arch students are also fairly tattooed and they also do quite well for themselves. I don't cover any of mine intentionally, though I would likely do so for conferences.

It helps that someone in my field who is quite the professional has full sleeves done.

[Archaeologist]

Appearances really depend on what area of the world you are living in. Having gone to archaeology conferences, I've seen quite a few interesting looking senior professionals. When I was an undergrad, I was working with my professors in the lab, and I had a mohawk, pierced ears and lip, and an arm tattoo.

Now that I'm in grad school, I toned myself down knowing that the area I'm in is full of conservative people and professors. I keep my sleeve tattoo covered.

[Halfpasser11]

I have several tattoos, but only one is visable on a day to day basis and I have yet to have any negative comments. To be fair, I'm in Animal Science dept with equine empahsis and the tattoo in question is a track of horseshoes on the top of my foot. If anything I think it is a positive thing rather than negative. I have gotten several "Must be really dedicated to put that on yourself" or "Cool, you really love horses huh?" etc etc... I don't care to cover it up, unless I'm wearing boots it's going ot be seen and I'm okay with that.

I also have a large back piece that shows when I wear sleeveless dresses. Whenever I am around faculty or really anyone that isn't my fellow grad students I just cover it. No big deal. For me I don't really worry about how people feel about my back piece, but it's such a personal tattoo and I have a lot of feeling attached to it I would rather not go showing it off. Makes me feel naked in more than one way...I always bring a cardi with me just in case.

Great topic!