Sophomore Tory Taylor has blonde hair and pearl earrings. The bright-eyed girl with a big smile is an InterVarsity Small Group leader and an aspiring early childhood education teacher. She is also inked.

“I am not a tattoo person,” she admitted. “If you looked at me, you wouldn’t think I have a tattoo.”

But on her wrist she does: a white ink dove enclosed by a circle. The tattoo doesn’t just shock her classmates — the owner of the tattoo parlor Taylor visited in Washington, D.C., thought she and her mom were lost when they stepped into the shop.

At Elon University and around the country, the taboo surrounding tattoos isn’t what it once was. Taylor is just one example. Ink has become more of an expression of individuality or a connection to a personal philosophy than a mark of unemployment or street cred. Outdated assumptions about the kind of people who get inked are dying out — but they’re not dead, especially in certain areas of the job market.

An aspiring teacher, Taylor is worried her tattoo may harm her career. She knows many elementary schools have dress codes prohibiting teachers from showing tattoos, and the wrist is a difficult spot to cover.

Lynn Huber, associate professor of religious studies, got a triple spiral tattooed on her left shoulder in 2004, after her undergraduate years. She recalls the negative stereotypes applied to people with tattoos during her time in college.

“It was a lot more edgy to get a tattoo or a piercing, to express yourself,” she said. “We thought we were strange if we had a strange haircut.”

Huber waited until she had established herself in her career before she got a tattoo. She had just received her doctorate and secured a job at Elon in the religious studies department, an area within academia thought to be more accepting of her tattoo.

“I think there’s probably more acceptance of things like body modification and tattoos among academics and especially in the field of religious studies,” she said. “So, it’s not unusual for people in my field of work, in my professional field, to have piercings or tattoos. But I know in other fields that that’s sort of an issue.”

That conservative mentality in the workplace might be on its way out. According to Sara Shechter, assistant director of career services for the College of Arts and Sciences, negative perceptions of tattoos are fading because of the popularization of body ink in the past 50 years.

“I think there are more organizations that are more open to having people with tattoos now because there’s also more of a culture of that,” she said. “More and more younger people are getting tattoos, and so that’s more common. I think that generally what we tell people is that it’s not like if you have a tattoo, you’re not going to get a job.”

The job market itself is not inherently anti-ink. Shechter said it is the older generation of people in high positions, the people who grew up in a culture that stigmatized body modification of any kind, that have negative opinions on ink.

“People who are much older, like my grandfather who’s 89, would probably freak out if I one day went over to him and was like, ‘Guess what? I just got a tattoo,’” she said. “His generation I don’t think [isn’t as tolerant], but I think people who are younger are more accepting of that.”

According to Shechter, as older business owners retire and make way for a younger and generally more liberal and accepting generation, the workplace will follow suit, allowing these tattoos to be displayed.

Growing acceptance of ink in the workplace is good news for inked students about to dive into the world of applications and interviews. But Shechter cautions students that attitudes about tattoos don’t change overnight.

For applicants concerned their tattoos will affect their employment chances, particularly during the interview stage, they should research the company. Often, company policies will be posted on the website, including any dress code.

If students discover a strict dress code policy or a more conservative atmosphere, covering a tattoo for the interview isn’t a bad idea, according to Shechter.

But as important as it is to land the job, she also asks that students consider their personal values.

“Clearly you got this tattoo for a reason, so it’s a part of who you are, a part of your identity,” Shechter said. “So if the place you’re interviewing with is not going to accept that, is that really the kind of culture that you want to be in?”

   

Needled with symbolic ink

Taylor’s tattoo is her way to celebrate the life of a close friend and role model. Designed to represent the Holy Spirit, the white ink tattoo is dedicated to her soccer coach of seven years, who lost the battle to thymus cancer.

“Through the whole thing, he was just really strong in his faith — which I can’t even imagine, because he was basically on his deathbed,” she said. “There was no cure. So, when I thought of him, I thought of the Holy Spirit because I saw it working through him.”

Taylor and her mother went together to the tattoo parlor, and they both left with the same tattoo. They couldn’t be happier with the result.

“Every time we see it, we think of what an amazing person he was and how strong his faith was,” Taylor said.

Senior Holly Smith also sports a tattoo dedicated to the special people in her life.

“On my forearm, I have my mom and dad’s initials and mine in an equation,” she said. “So, my dad plus my mom equals mine. My dad actually passed away when I was a year old, so it’s just symbolic to me.”

Smith’s tattoo is a way for her to honor her father’s memory as well as her mother’s influence on her life. After all, she said, she couldn’t just get a tattoo for her father.

“I had to get them both on there [so] my mom [wouldn’t be] like, ‘Where’s my tattoo?’” she said.

Senior Rachel Lewis’ tattoos are reminders of her loved ones and her beliefs. Her first tattoo connects her to her sister. The two got matching ink on their ribs during Winter Term 2013, when Lewis was a sophomore. Lewis got “inhale” and her sister “exhale.”

As a positive reminder, on her collarbone she has tattooed the words “I belong deeply to myself,” a line from a poem by Warsan Shire, written backwards in cursive.

“[It’s] a reminder at face level that I do belong to myself, that I need to make decisions for myself and focus on myself a little bit more than I usually do,” she said. “And it’s reversed so I can read it in the mirror, which is important to me.”

Another one of her tattoos, the word “shine” written five times on the back of her neck, comes from the poem “Don’t You Wonder, Sometimes?” by Tracy K. Smith.

“I think that was just kind of a cool reminder to me,” Lewis said. “Not to be cheesy, but you are alive, and you should do something with it and remain a part of whatever it is you’re a part of.”

   

Acceptance at Elon

Inked students enjoy a general acceptance among their peers, especially from other students with tattoos. Lewis said she thinks this growing tolerance has an easy explanation: prevalence. The more students with tattoos, she said, the less shocking it is to have one.

“When I see someone with tattoos, I get really excited about it — especially if it’s a big, visible one,” Lewis said.

With this visibility comes conversation. Many students see their tattoos as a way to share their stories and  encourage others to ask and to start a conversation.

As Huber explained, a person with a tattoo knows the ink is a symbol to the people they meet. There’s a reason people decide to put their tattoos on display, and often, the reason is to share the story.

Smith said people regularly ask her about the tattoo on the back of her arm, a line drawing of a hand forming the words “I really love you” in sign language.

“The tattoo in sign language on the back of my arm is always a conversation starter. I’ll just be in line somewhere, something like that, and [I’ll hear], ‘Excuse me, what’s on your arm?’” Smith said. “People want to know what it means.”

Taylor got her tattoo for herself, but she likes being asked about it too.

“It’s just a cool experience because I get to share the story every time someone asks me about it,” she said. “None of my friends were judgmental about it. And some of them probably have forgotten because it’s so subtle.”

Even though ink has become more prevalent and more discussed on campus, Huber would like to see more students express their individuality through tattoos and other body modifications.

“I think it’s sad that there aren’t more tattoos and more piercings and more people who embrace alternative ways of looking and being at Elon,” Huber said. “Sometimes I think it would be great to see more variety in how people present themselves.”

   

To ink or not to ink?

For students considering getting their first tattoo, inked students have some advice.

“Thinking is the main recommendation,” Lewis said. “For a long time. At least six months.”

Taylor also cautioned against impulsive tattoos. She recommended meditating on the meaning of the tattoo and making sure it matches your personal values.

Lewis couldn’t agree more.

“I feel like you have to be really set on the kind of person you are,” she said. “Because for me, again, tattoos are reminders of things. They are connecting you to an ideology that you value. So I’m always really hesitant of things that are very clearly linked to one train of thought or way of thinking about things.”

A tattoo’s placement and size are also important factors that merit consideration.

“Think about how big you want it,” Smith said. “If you ever decide that you don’t like it, will you be able to cover it up?”

For students worried about interviews and careers in fields that might not be as accepting of tattoos as others, placement is a big deal.

Students should also stay clear of cheap, sketchy tattoo parlors. According to Taylor, going to an untrustworthy parlor can result in a bad tattoo or even a dangerous infection.

“Do your research,” Taylor said. “Don’t just go and pass by the first tattoo parlor you see. I think that if I had just found the first number that came up on Google, then maybe I wouldn’t have had the same good experience where it didn’t get infected or anything like that.”

For those a bit nervous to get inked on their bodies, Huber had some words of encouragement.

“I think they’re a good thing, and I think they can be a good experience,” she said. “Even though the actual physical process might be painful or uncomfortable, I still think that it’s an important, memorable experience and something to go through. I wouldn’t change the fact that I’ve gotten a tattoo.”

Photos by Jane Seidel, Photo Editor