Discrimination of People with

Tattoo by the Society

Andrew Tan Dao Wei

Wong Ming Shen
Heng Chee Kiang
Kang Tuo
 Content
• Introduction
• Case study
• Impression of people with tattoo
• Justification of discrimination
• Conclusion
 Purpose
• Identification
• Cosmetic
• Medical
• Spiritual uses
• Symbolism
• Association
 Impressions Portrayed by People with
Tattoos
• “Red Ink Effect”
- Prisoners (Past / Future)
- Gangsters
- Criminals
• “Show me a man with a tattoo and I’ll show
you a man of an interesting past.” – Jack
London
 Case Study
• What happened?
• What effects did the tattoo have on his image?
 Justification of Discrimination
• As an employer, is it justifiable to discriminate
against employees with tattoos?
• Factors for the employer to consider :
o Job scope
o Interpretation of the tattoo
Job Scope
• Case in point:
o Job scope
» Enforce law
o Job scope against public’s
impression of tattoos
» Law enforcer involved in
criminal acts?
• Compare with:
o Bodyguard
 Job Scope

Job scope must

complement with
public’s impression of
tattoos
 Interpretation of Tattoo
• Case in point:
o Public’s interpretation of his tattoo
» Patriotism
» Passionate towards law enforcement
o Portrayed positive images
 Interpretation of Tattoo
• “…he has a military tattoo [which shows] he fought
and served for his country [so] if anything, they
should worship his tattoo.” – comment on Facebook

• “This man did his job in both the battle and for his
state.” – comment on Facebook
 Interpretation of Tattoo
• Religion insensitivity
• Cultural taboos
• Instill fear
 Interpretation of Tattoo

Again,
public’s impression of
tattoos
is important!
How to improve the images?
 Suggested solutions
• Maintain good mindset(psychological health)

• Have proper physical coverage when it’s

necessary

• Behave gently or in a reasonable way

 However, the most effective way for an
employee with tattoo to improve his/her
image is ……

To work hard and show that you

perform much better than others in your job
What application can this case study have to
us graduating students?
• In order to better integrate ourselves into
mainstream society, tattooing is not
recommended

• Quite often, personalities have to be

compromised under the universal values of
mainstream society
 Conclusion
• Tattooing is a new and fashionable way for
some young people to physically express their
personalities and values, it’s not morally
wrong but it hasn’t been widely accepted by
the majority of people, hence do think it twice
before you actually tattoo your body
especially when your job is concerned.
Thank you for your attention