Tattoos and Nursing

none of mine should be offensive to anyone... but you never know hehe

Plenty of opinions here:

https://allnurses.com/gsearch.php?cx=partner-pub-9350112648257122%3Avaz70l-mgo9&cof=FORID%3A10&ie=UTF-8&q=Tattoo

I have one but it's on my shoulder so covered up 90 percent the time. I want more but I don't plan on getting any that wouldn't be covered up at work until I get the feel of how employers in my area are about them. It's hard because it's your body and people usually feel strongly about not only what the tattoo is but where it gets put. I wouldn't care if a nurse had one that showed.

It's not a shocking cutting edge thing anymore. Have at it.

Man if my hospital allowed it, I'd have full sleeves on both sides. I do intend to get a couple of smaller ones that can be easily hidden, and I already have some by default hidden ones. Tattoos decorate the vets and bikers I take care of every shift. I think the tides are changing on this one.

I have a 2" Pikachu on my inner forearm.

I have no problem with tattoos and have a bunch myself. What other people say or think doesn't matter. You are who you are...tattoos and all.

I've had many staff with tattoos. Seems to be the social norm now. As long as they're not offensive, I don't see a problem with them.

Hehe Alright so as long as they're not offensive it should not be a big deal! thanks guys!

Hehe Alright so as long as they're not offensive it should not be a big deal! thanks guys!

Define offensive.

A local FD recently won the right to have the Grim Reaper and a skull in flames as accepted tattoos because they did not fit the definition of offensive. Since most of them are Paramedics, patients including kids, are now subjected to tattoos which some terrifying dreams are made of.

Tattoos have also represented ownership of women in other countries and are also a sign of human slavery or trafficking here in the US. The "crown" is just a tattoo of a crown but with a specific meaning to the woman forced to wear it. None of the tattoos are what you would call "offensive" by definition but would definitely mean something to someone who might have been through some form of captivity. The same for Holocaust survivors and their families. What you might perceive to be "not offensive" can have a totally different meaning for someone else or a very different cultural interpretation.

I doubt if any of that will matter to you. But, let's take a more personal view.

I love art and I love fashion. I love being up with the latest. Over the last 40 years since my teen years I have changed my hair style and color dozens of time. Of course when I joined the adult working world I had to be in compliance but I was still able to change it up a lot. I also had all the latest in clothes and shoes. A few piercings (small holes) were also part of the fashion. My love of art led me to paint and repaint the walls of my house many times. I also changed the artwork frequently. Every year I found a new trend in art which I liked. Out with the old and in with the new. But, there was some art which my friends thought was very trendy which I would never put on my walls. I found it "offensive" to my senses even though is did not fit the legal definition of "offensive".

The nice thing is I kept the base canvas, my body, a clean slate for the next fashion or style. I have not done any permanent damage. I can still be creative and artful in appearance without disturbing what I was born with.

I remember being a kid in the 1960s at the circus and saw the "tattooed couple". A man and woman were featured as a freak show. Thinking back, they look like some today. I can guarantee that fashion will change again for tattoos. WWII they were popular for military personnel. After Vietnam they represented baby burners. Tattoos might be the rage today but what about 5 years from now? Will you be an embarrassment to your kids? I see the men still hanging on to wearing long hair since the 1970s. They are looked at like scummy bums by some in EMS, the ED and others in healthcare regardless of their socioeconomic status just because long hair on men is not today's look. Bald is in today. A few years ago that look was considered skin heads and commonly associated with the Aryan nation. That image is still vivid for some.

You might be taking "offensive" at only a superficial level. Live long enough and take lots of selfies to see how your opinion of art might change.