Ink Harder: The Stigma Behind Tattoos and How Sanford is addressing it

As temperatures rise and layers of clothes lessen, walking down the street starts to resemble a gander through an art gallery. Every other person you pass is expressing themselves, on themselves. Our bodies are not only home to our skeleton and organs, but walking canvases, home of expression. The fact is, almost half of Americans have tattoos.

Now imagine it’s you walking down this street, the new red carpet for self-expression. What is your first assumption about the man with the arm sleeve tattoo: A Doctor? A Rapper? What about a kindergarten teacher? As you ponder your response, let’s imagine you’re arrested right there on the street. The officers tell you that you have to pick someone on that street to represent you in court… Are you picking the man with the arm sleeve? Or would you wait for someone without ink on their skin?

As far as scientists know, putting ink into our skin has no effect on the brain. It has no correlation or causation to a lack of intelligence, yet the stigma seems to be more permanent than ink, even today.

Tattoos have become increasingly popular as a form of self-expression, with more people than ever choosing to get inked. Although the acceptance of tattoos is on the rise, the stigma that surrounds them in places of work and education has been slower to adapt.

Sanford school teacher, Brianna McCoy, considers herself a rule follower. She is passionate about literature, especially Jane Austin’s. McCoy also has seven tattoos, her earliest one since she was a senior in college, a tiger lily flower. McCoy has zero regrets about any of her tattoos, with the exception of getting her first one done in a college town. “If the price is good, the tattoo is not,” she laughs.

In her professional life, she has also encountered glares of “mild disgruntlement” towards her tattoos. McCoy remembers having to cover her tattoos every day at a previous school and seeing kids being forced to put sock covers over their arms.

“How do we define professional? Professionalism is an evolving world, especially in a post-covid world” McCoy states.

Gen-Z entering the workforce brings with them a new take on professionalism. If as a society we agree that self-expression is allowed, then why should where you go to school define what you wear, pierce, or tattoo?

Tommy Vaughn and Dayon Polk represent Sanford basketball with multiple tattoos. A basketball is featured on Dayon’s arm sleeve. Photo courtesy of Izmaddy Studios.

“I’m glad that society is shifting towards acceptance. I feel comfortable having tattoos. I feel comfortable getting more tattoos. Having a tattoo doesn’t make me less intellectual or less responsible. I am glad that the stigma is diminishing” McCoy says.

Sanford is having the conversation. With more and more students showing up with ink, what is Sanford’s plan of action? As of right now, it clearly states in the Sanford dress code that no visible tattoos are allowed. The question on a lot of students’ minds is “What will happen if I violate that dress code rule?” If you wear an inappropriate shirt, you cover it with a sweatshirt and never wear it again. If you get an arm sleeve tattoo, there is no taking it off.

Dean of Students, Matt Wilson, claims that the Sanford administration has every intention of changing rules if necessary to adapt to changing social trends, but there is always a delay when implementing trends into the dress code.

“That was put in the dress code when [tattoos weren’t] as widely accepted in professional locations. There was a lot of research that went into it, we brought it up last summer with the intent of taking it out of the dress code,” Wilson says.

The intent of the Sanford dress code is to get students comfortable wearing professional attire. If tattoos are acceptable in the workplace, they will be allowed at Sanford. That being said, changing the dress code is a long democratic process that cannot be not done in one afternoon. This was heavily discussed by the administration and all faculty this past summer. McCoy and all of the Upper School teachers were involved.

McCoy made it clear that “Sanford is having the conversation, which is the most important thing. Sanford wants to do right by the students, I wouldn’t want to teach in a place that wouldn’t have that conversation.”

She recalled that the votes to allow tattoos in the dress code were narrowly split, which seem to also reflect society’s views on the subject. Are tattoos professional? Is Sanford preparing students for their future workplace attire or delaying the inevitable?

The discussion last summer to allow visible tattoos did not receive enough votes from the administration or faculty, which is why the dress code did not change.

“Although it didn’t go through this year, I see it being brought up again next summer. I can’t guarantee a change in dress code, but the administration in the Upper School is leaning in that direction,” Wilson admits.

Wilson personally thinks that tattoos are a great way to express oneself. He grew up with a strict no-tattoo rule by his parents for himself, but as he grew into an adult, he came to the conclusion that everyone has the right to do whatever they want with their body.

At Sanford, specifically the Upper School, there are students with entire limbs covered in ink. This technically violates the dress code, yet Wilson shared that nobody has been written up or dress-coded due to a tattoo. The question on a student’s mind is “Why would tattoos be in the dress code if Sanford wouldn’t dress code someone with a tattoo?” Unfortunately, I don’t have an answer and neither does the Sanford administration.

There is a large realm of gray area and confusion when discussing tattoos. I have personally witnessed the fluttering eyes and deep inhales when asking faculty opinions on tattoos in the workplace. There is no right answer, only a prediction of the accepting future and the knowledge of the judgmental past. Tattoos are a lingering, ancient form of art above all else.

Wilson claims that neither Sanford nor he would want to be in a position to give approval to students’ tattoos. Sanford’s involvement will always be retroactive, as students have the right to express themselves and ink themselves freely, with approval of their parents.

Monthly, Wilson and Sanford Upper School teacher, Jamy Haughey, get together with a panel of students to discuss changes in trends and norms. This assures students that the administration is open to change. Wilson said that at the last meeting, all of the Upper School students were invited, yet only nine were present. If students do have an issue with the dress code, they have to fight for it. This goes for any change in society too. Tattoos in the workplace might always be a minority, so those with a tattoo have to answer to the stigma that tattoos are unprofessional, as change will not be made in society nor at Sanford without action.

“Tattoos have an aspect of storytelling, but our stories change,” McCoy believes.

Tattoos are representations of one point in our story, but they don’t have to represent who we are today. Seeing somebody with an aggressive tattoo walking down the street doesn’t tell you anything about them, except that at one point in their story, that’s what expressed them.

As younger generations enter the workforce and bring with them a casual attitude toward tattoos, judgment and acceptance await them indisputably. As a society, our trajectory suggests that tattoos will become more accepted in the workplace as we become more tolerant of different forms of self-expression. The foundation of the stigma is that a person with tattoos is not as responsible or intelligent as someone without ink, yet tattoos have no correlation to the level of intelligence of that individual. I am hopeful in the future that the foundation of this stigma will fall from the cracks in its logic. And as a society, we view tattoos as beautiful, celebrated art. Jane Austin said it best, “It is particularly incumbent on those who never change their opinion to be secure of judging properly first.”