Tattoos [Not So] Taboo Anymore
Tattoos are evolving. Once associated with gangs, prisoners, strippers, bikers and other groups considered outside the mainstream, tattoos now are becoming more popular amongst the general population.
// VF File Photo by Meghan Gerke
Tattoos often have a checkered past that leads to questions such as, “will this tattoo keep me from getting a job” or “can I get this tattoo because of my career aspirations.”
But will these issues even be issues a few years from now? A tattoo artist, tattooed pastor, tattooed professor and tattooed student weighed in on how they think society has become more accepting of tattoos.
A tattoo artist’s perspective:
Behind Bear Milne’s tattoo chair at Ironclad Tattoo in Altoona is a portrait of Johnny Cash, which he has replicated on his forearm. It fits perfectly with his favorite type of tattoo, which is old school traditional.
Milne has been tattooing for almost two years and has seen tattoo acceptance grow in society. To him, a lot of it comes down to Baby Boomers getting out of the picture and Millennials stepping in.
Business has been flowing since the tattoo acceptance trend began and isn’t expected to slow down anytime soon.
“I think just in five years it has grown intensely,” Milne said. “In another five years, its going to be weird seeing someone without tattoos.”
“You see so many people come in here and hear stories how people used to be scared to get visible tattoos,” Milne said. “Now people are starting to get big tattoos on their arms.”
Considering Milne makes a living off of tattooing, the trend is welcomed.
“Visible tattoos aren’t a problem anymore,” Milne said.
A tattooed pastor’s perspective:
“I have been tattooed for more of my life than I didn’t have tattoos,” Josh Goodman, a pastor at Two Rivers Church in Des Moines, said.
Goodman has two complete sleeves and his back inked up. One of his favorite tattoos is an angel swooping down and grabbing people out of a lake of fire. In his 15 years as a pastor, Goodman has never received negative backlash from his tattoos.
“I would say I have been either blessed or protected, or both, from that,” Goodman said. “I have not had anything very directly come at me. I know there have been people who don’t like them or don’t approve. I’ve never had anybody confront me or judge me.”
As a pastor, Goodman’s tattoos can also be used as a sort of visual aid.
“I can’t tell you how many spiritual conversations I’ve had over the years as a direct result of my tattoos and the meaning behind them,” Goodman said. “I love that part of it, and I knew full well it would happen as I was deciding to go all out and get sleeved.”
As for society, Goodman sees it evolving. When he got his first tattoo at the age of 18, it was a different story. Goodman did not know anyone else who had a tattoo, and people thought he was crazy for getting one.
Today, society needs to focus on the bigger picture.
“I think it has become part of society where it’s like look, we have
a lot bigger issues to deal with in life than whether someone has a tattoo or not,” Goodman said. “It’s not a big deal.”
// VF File Photo by Meghan Gerke
A tattooed teacher’s perspective:
When one pictures a history professor, an elderly man carrying a worn leather briefcase might come to mind. At Grand View, that image is irrelevant. Exhibit A: Professor Kevin Gannon.
Gannon is a collector of tattoos. His tattoos have come from different artists nationwide.
“I’ve had a lot of artists work on me because I’ve lived in a lot of different places,” Gannon said. “I kind of collect so when I travel, if I have time, I get a tattoo if there’s a shop there with an artist who kind of knows somebody that I know.”
The stories behind Gannon’s tattoos are intriguing. One of these stories includes getting tattooed by the godfather of tattooing, Gill Montie. Montie has tattooed stars such as Shaquille O’Neal and Sammy Hagar (lead singer of Van Halen.) Montie did Gannon’s tattoo of a dove with a peace banner underneath. Gannon got it the day of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary.
Being in academia for 17 years, Gannon has seen people get used to his tattoos and has noticed he is not the only one who has been getting inked.
“I get a lot less raised eyebrows now, and what I’ve noticed is more and more of my students are tattooed,” Gannon said.
In the past 10 years, Gannon has seen an increase in students who have tattoos.
With tattoos becoming more common, people have become less judgmental.
“If I am going to make a judgment on someone, I want it to be if they are treating other people with disrespect or if they are awful to animals or something like that,” Gannon said. “I’m not going to get hung up on how they look.”
This development of less judgment societally has allowed tattoo acceptance to progress immensely.
A tattooed student’s perspective:
Ashley Wyman, a sophomore English and studio arts major at Grand View, uses her eight tattoos as a form of self- expression. On her left forearm is an outline of a forest she intends to get filled in with color in the near future.
// VF File Photo by Meghan Gerke
Wyman currently works at Zombie Burger. She said she considers herself to be pretty lucky to work in an alternative environment where tattoos aren’t an issue. That hasn’t always been the case.
“I worked at Starbucks for a long time and they made me cover up my tattoos,” Wyman said. “But Starbucks recently changed their rules and regulations, and they changed their dress code so that tattoos are allowed to be visible now.”
While at Starbucks, Wyman had to wear bracelets to cover up a tattoo on her wrist. She also had to wear collared shirts to cover up the tattoo on the back of her neck. As for the visible tattoos on her arms now, those came after being employed at Starbucks.
As far as future employment, Wyman isn’t worried. Not only does she sense the changes in society’s acceptance of tattoos, but she also is going into a field of art and illustration. She understands that not everyone feels as she does about tattoos.
“If I were to go in to an interview, I would probably still wear long sleeves because I don’t want prejudgments,” Wyman said.
Judged or not, tattoos will remain part of her life.
“I feel like (tattoos) are little pieces of me,” Wyman said.
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