for the people. not of the people.

what’s the first thing that comes to mind when you see a dude with tattoos (literally) from his head to his toes? how about a teenager with tattoos sprawled all over their forearm? or a woman with a huge tattoo covering the better part of her right calf and her (ex-)boo’s name spelled across her arm?

i know this chick doesn't wear turtlenecks every day!

i’ll tell you the first thing that comes to my mind…where do these folks work? i just can’t imagine they have many options outside of (low-end) restaurant and retail chains, construction work, or some other trade job that requires a ton of manual labor. and while this might seem a bit (low-key) hypocritical coming from someone with an undisclosed number of tattoos, i can say what i want because i’m a self-confessed tattoo snob.

bottom line: if you’re into building/sustaining a career (which ≠ getting a job), tattoos can be limiting – depending, of course, on your line of work. truth be told, i envy folks that work in entertainment (film, tv, magazines, fashion, etc.) almost as much as i envy ellen degeneres for wearing sneakers to work everyday. and all this, despite the fact that it’s probably more difficult to find someone without at least one tattoo these days (which i think might be a generational thing; because my mother is probably the only person i know without a tattoo, just like she was the only person i knew – circa 2003 – that didn’t smoke weed). and while some folks will be tatted up no matter what, i’m sure there are plenty of folks out there that would throw you for a loop — all tatted up beneath the white collar. and secretly, i think tattoos are sexiest when you have no idea they exist until the clothes come off…