Forehead Tattoo Causes Problems
The Elmira Star-Gazette takes a look local residents and their tattoos. After spending some time with brothers getting memorial tattoos and a cancer survivor (and her friend) getting inked, the article turns to a local Wiccan woman and her forehead tattoo. Unsurprisingly, this has caused her a variety of problems.
Camilla Nhamercedes
“Along with the attention, Camilla said her tattoo brought another thing: discrimination. She said that it’s difficult to get through the entire job interview process without her tattoo becoming a hindrance … She said that her teachers at her adult education program even insisted that she find makeup to completely cover her tattoo so she could prepare for the work force. Camilla recalls one time where she completed an interview fairly successfully, only to have the interviewer notice her tattoo as she was shaking his hand. He stared at her and then drew his hand back as if it had been burned, she said. Camilla said she has never judged people based on their physical appearance, so she finds the treatment she has received hard to understand. She added that the manner in which potential employers have reacted to her tattoo has been frustrating. ‘They just kind of look at me weird and then I hear later from word-of-mouth that that was the reason they didn’t hire me,’ she said.”
The crescent-moon forehead tattoo isn’t entirely uncommon among modern Pagans, and was apparently first inspired by the tattoos given to priestesses of the Goddess in the cult-classic book “The Mists of Avalon”. A work so pervasively popular in some Pagan circles that it has been acknowledged as a primary source of spiritual inspiration in The Paganism Reader. However, despite this popularity, and despite the ongoing growth of modern Pagan religions, it will no doubt be several years before visible religiously-motivated facial tattoos are accepted in the more conservative regions of our country.
But conservative or not, small unobtrusive tattoos that express a religious belief shouldn’t preclude someone from being hired for a job they are qualified for. If Ms. Nhamercedes can provide proof that a job passed her over due to her tattoo, she may very well have grounds for legal action.
10 responses so far
Her disbelief is disingenuous. Sorry . . . she’s old enough to know better.
It’s certainly possible that she’s very naive; maybe she’s Aspie or something. Nonetheless, any responsible tattoo artist would have warned her. It’s just not socially acceptable. I do skyclad circles, that doesn’t entitle me to show up nude for an interview. I’m also heavily tattooed but I don’t do interviews with the tattoos showing.
“her teachers at her adult education program” kind of says it all, as well as explains her misunderstanding of the tat’s effect on others.
“kind of says it all”
Doesn’t it say she is interested in self-improvement? There are plenty of excellent “adult education programs” that provide retraining and additional skill sets.
I’m sorry the lady has had problems, but, as I’ve told my daughter many times over the years, if you’re going to do something that you know full well is going to attract negative attention, you’ve no room to complain when you get it.
Headline reads: “Surprise! Facial tattoo’s cause problems getting regular work”
I don’t mean to sound callous, but its just the social environment we live in.
However, I’ll give credit where it is due. The only way the social climate changes is if someone (lots of someones) is willing to go out on a limb and do it.
I have a Tri-moon with a pentacle in the center of the full moon done in black on my left cheekbone. I have had no negative experiences because of it, if anything it has caused many folks to simply ask about it and they haven’t been negative at all, just curious. I know what it means to me and I got it done for me. Its my face, if someone doesn’t like it – they needn’t look. There’s no point or sense in being rude, crass or judgemental. Those that may react in that way will be scratched off my books because they’re obviously not the type of person I want in my life anyway. If someone decides to judge me or treat me bad because they don’t like my ink or my hair or my skin – they’re too shallow and transparent for me anyhow. I tend to stay close to those who are accpeting and loving beyond appearances.
Also – I really like her tattoo.
I think it beautiful of her to show herself and her belief in such a way. Tattos are closely related to who we are and they speak for themselves. I haven’t got a tattoo and I’m a Pagan myself, and if I had the guts to have one, i’d like it to be a blue crescent on my brow. What keeps me from doing it is the fact that I’m terrified of needles and that society does not accept that in good terms, unfortunately. One must be totally aware of the consequences before such a thing. She was very brave and/or very naive to do it with no second thought, knowing that people does not see it well in majority.
ew.
showing up nude to an interview is completely different than having a small facial tattoo.
public nudity is against the law, having tattoos, even facial ones, is not.