Tattoos, taboos and workplace acceptance

I suffer from an anxiety disorder and social awkwardness. I find it difficult to express myself verbally or vocalise my inner feelings, so for me tattoos are and always have been a form of self-expression. Although there are many stigmas attached to males in the childcare profession, on this occasion I have decided to write a short piece focusing on tattoo acceptance in the workplace and, in particular, the nursery setting.

A decade ago, it was estimated that one in eight of all British adults had been inked. In 2010, it was estimated this had increased to a fifth of all adults having at least one tattoo, and now it is estimated that at least a third of all British adults have gone under the needle.

Along with many others, I believe it is important for children to see a childcare setting representing a cross-section of society, reflecting the cultural landscape we live in today. In a work environment such as childcare where we are increasingly focused on diversity and inclusion, how are we expected to teach children it's OK to be different if at the same time we censor them from people whose appearance differentiates from societal norms? I understand that some parents and children may find tattoos intimidating, but these are the exact views and barriers that we need to be breaking down.

Throughout history people have been judged by their cultural identity, which has always led to a divisive force in society creating conflict. We should be striving towards equality and people should be held morally culpable based on their actions, as opposed to some dated negative stigma associated to a physical tattooed appearance. I always try to be friendly, nurturing and attentive in my role, as I am aware I may be responsible for how many children in my care will view and perceive other tattooed individuals they encounter in the future.

In society, it is important we value differences and recognise that diversity and inclusion are good for social unity and make communities and workforces stronger. Physical appearance should have no basis in whether somebody is a good role model and an employee's actions and work ethic should ideally be the deciding factor when it comes to employment. Having a visible tattoo does not make me any less responsible than a non-tattooed employee, in the same sense that being Muslim does not make somebody a terrorist.

If I can at least play a small part in helping future generations develop positive attitudes and value each other's differences while I'm here, then that is more important to me than any amount of riches. I read a quote the other day: 'Prejudice is a learned trait. You're not born prejudiced, you're taught it.' And that is absolutely true. Children know nothing of hatred, intolerance, bigotry and prejudice. For the first and most important formative years of their life, all they know is what we teach them.

On a positive note, many employers are losing this cookie-cutter mentality of how their workers should appear and be perceived, and instead seeing body art as a sign of individualism, inventiveness and placing trust that tattooed applicants will incorporate that creative style and imagination into the workplace with them. For example, Starbucks, the largest coffee retailer in the world, has relaxed its policies, now allowing employees to exhibit their tattoos, and views body art and piercings as something that makes a worker more interesting and genuine, and a definite plus.

Of course the bottom line lies at the discretion of management, and understandably if somebody has a Nazi swastika or white pride logo tattooed on their skin it is a good indicator they have made some poor lifestyle choices in the past, but in a general sense with inoffensive tattoos it would be pleasing to see more employers moving forward with changing times, evolving and in turn preventing them from losing out on beneficial employees due to archaic stereotypes of tattoos. If you are inclined to fall into the trap for stereotypes, next time you see someone heavily illustrated - and think 'freak, weird, ugly' - or conjure up images of jail and youthful delinquency, you could just be looking at a childcare worker, paramedic, organ donor, charity worker or carer, and always bear in mind there is guaranteed to be a clean cut chief executive or politician in a three-piece suit with much worse criminal, socially and environmentally destructive habits than somebody with a passion for body art.