![\"A\"](\"https:\/\/itsthisorwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/A.png\")
\nand this one most feminine.
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![\"B\"](\"https:\/\/itsthisorwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/B.png\")
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Everyone who has been in a crowd in the last 5 years knows intuitively that tattoos and piercings are becoming more common.\u00a0 Statistics bear this out. Whereas only 6% of Americans 65 and older have a tattoo, 35% of Americans 18\u201325 years old and 40% of those 26-40 have at least one (according to statisticsbrain.com).\u00a0 It makes no sense for workplaces to be too strict about workers not having or covering up tattoos when more and more customers have them too, and won\u2019t care if they see one on the arm of the company employee they interact with.<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s tattoos and then tattoos. They\u2019re not all the same. Some make us say \u201cnice!\u201d and some make us say \u201cyuk!\u201d or \u201cyikes!\u201d<\/p>\n
Recent research shows that it isn\u2019t just a personal reaction that matters: the kinds of tattoos do have different kinds of impact on who consumers trust and who they are willing to work with.<\/p>\n
In a 2012 article, two researchers from Old Dominion University looked at how people thought about tattoos on salespeople in two industries\u2014auto sales and real estate. What they found says a lot both about stereotypes about tattoos and about gender.<\/p>\n
The authors surveyed about 100 college students, almost evenly split between men and women, and asked them first to rate 21 tattoos and choose which they thought were the most masculine and most feminine.<\/p>\n
This was rated most masculine<\/p>\n
\nand this one most feminine.
\n<\/p>\n
Then the tattoos on the more masculine and feminine side of the scales were given to about 250 people with an average age of 34 \u00bd.\u00a0 They were given the question \u201cif you were going to buy a new car [house] and saw a salesman [saleswoman] in his [her] early 20\u2019s with this tattoo on his [her] wrist, what would go through your mind?\u201d\u00a0 with randomly chosen salesperson gender, tattoo rated masculine or feminine, and industry.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what they found. When selling to people with tattoos, an \u201cappropriate\u201d tattoo on a salesperson is not a liability. \u00a0In fact, people with tattoos trust salespeople with tattoos more than they trust those without them, and want to work with them more. So you do the math. If 40% of 26-40 year olds have a tattoo, companies better get them some tattooed employees!<\/p>\n
But . . . the kind of tattoo matters. The study showed that salespeople, \u201cregardless of gender, who have highly feminine tattoos are rated as more feminine, and salespeople who have highly masculine tattoos are rated as more masculine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finally,\u00a0 the study showed that consumers are \u201cless likely to trust or intend to work with salespeople who have a highly masculine tattoo\u201d vs. a salesperson with a feminine tattoo. This is especially true for saleswomen. Both salesmen and saleswomen with highly masculine tattoos were expected to be \u201cmore aggressive, ambitious, and dominant.\u201d<\/p>\n
So bottom line, a more feminine tattoo will get you more business if you are in sales, whether you are a man or a woman.<\/p>\n
Tattoos are becoming just another way to judge how compatible you are with the person you\u2019re working with or buying something from.\u00a0 According to statisticsbrain.com, the percentage of people who say their tattoo makes them feel rebellious is 29%, and 31% say it makes them feel more sexy. So in looking at another person with a tattoo, they\u2019re seeing that tattoo or piercing as an object that reflects qualities they like in themselves.\u00a0 It\u2019s seeing common ground, a kindred spirit.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s clear now that as tattoos becoming more and more common, more and more normal, research like this is going to increase.\u00a0 Research is going to start appearing that studies how tattoos can actually function as an advantage and not a disadvantage.\u00a0 That current view of tattoos as a disadvantage is a reflection of the older management class, as can be judged by the number of companies that currently have dress codes specifying that tattoos and piercings need to be covered and removed while at work.\u00a0 That will all change as millenials become the managers. And the consumers.<\/p>\n
Citation:
\nArndt, A. D., & Glassman, M. Y. R. O. N. (2012). What tattoos tell customers about salespeople: The role of gender norms.\u00a0Marketing Management Journal,\u00a022(1), 50-65.<\/p>\n
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Everyone who has been in a crowd in the last 5 years knows intuitively that tattoos and piercings are<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":322,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n