A hint of a tribal tattoo peeks from under his shirtsleeve, but James Long has more ink to hide.

The sociology junior has a total of four tattoos: two nautical stars on his back and tribal tattoos on his side and arm.

His current job is with a police department, and though Long requested to keep the name of the police department anonymous, he said his employers don’t seem to mind his tattoos as much as others might.

“There’s actually quite a few guys that have tattoos that are police officers,” he said.

Tattoos and piercings have always had a stigma in the workplace, but there are many people who are still getting the body art despite the possibility of career consequences.

Long said the police force usually doesn’t care about tattoos unless they are derogatory.

“Because it’s a design, no one can really say anything about it,” Long said of his tribal tattoo. “The only time people have issues is if it’s a word or a phrase.”

Although tattoos are usually allowed, he said the department is stricter when it comes to piercings.

“I had to take all of [my piercings] out for [the job],” Long said.

Long said he feels people shouldn’t be discriminated against in the job market just because of tattoos or piercings. But he also said he understands that under some circumstances, they can be unprofessional.

“Let’s be honest. If you went to court, and the judge is sitting there with an eyebrow piercing — it’s kind of hard to take him seriously,” Long said.

He said he thinks most people and employers who are against tattoos and piercings were brought up to have those beliefs.

“They see [a tattoo or piercing] as something that [is] wrong. They associate [it] with bad people — with criminals and gangsters,” he said.

It all depends

In many professions, students won’t get a job unless they take out noticeable piercings and hide their tattoos. But in other jobs, tattoos and piercings are perfectly acceptable.

“It definitely depends on the employer and the environment,” said Elaine Stover, associate director of ASU Career Services.

She said the main reason employers might not want tattoos or piercings in the workplace is because of the issue of professionalism.

“That employer may not feel that that’s the best representation of [his or her] organization,” Stover said.

She suggests students do not wear piercings and that they cover tattoos for interviews to increase chances of getting hired.

“I would say to be safe, it would be better to not have [tattoos and piercings] be visible during an interview and then ask the employer about their stance on [them],” Stover said.

Bethany Burza, a support staff member at Club Tattoo at Apache Boulevard and Terrace Road, gave some suggestions for people who want to get tattoos or piercings but are worried about how they will affect their professionalism.

“We have stuff like UV tattoos that won’t show up unless it’s under a black light,” Burza said.

She also suggested retainers, clear piercing jewelry, and tattoos in places that clothing can cover up.

Evan Buffington, a 2007 graduate in justice studies, has tattoos and piercings and is currently a volunteer for the Peace Corps in Mongolia.

Buffington said in an e-mail that he first got piercings, then later tattoos.

“The idea of body modification intrigued me,” Buffington said. “Instead of makeup or clothes, tattoos and piercings allow people to create a more permanent statement about themselves and their outlook on life.”

He said he has one tattoo on the middle of his back and six piercings — two ear gauges, an industrial piercing on his left ear, two nipple piercings and a labret, which is a piercing below the lip and above the chin.

Buffington said he notices some people are prejudiced against tattoos and piercings in the workplace, and he usually takes his labret piercing out for interviews.

“While most work environments are more liberal than they were five or 10 years ago, people still believe in some of the stereotypes associated with tattoos and piercings,” he said.

If tattoos and piercings don’t affect a person’s ability to do a job, then they shouldn’t be questioned, he said.

“If you work around food or an environment where sanitation is a concern, I understand why work places want people to take out their facial piercings,” Buffington said.

However, he said office jobs should not prohibit piercings.

“Ink on my skin or metal on my body does not change my ability to do my job,” Buffington said.

Looking at the numbers

Although no recent studies have been completed on tattoos and piercings, the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press released a study in 2007 on “Generation Next,” which reveals the views of young people in the U.S.

The results included the Generation Next 2006 study, which revealed that 36 percent of 18- to 25-year-olds have or had tattoos and 30 percent of the same age group have or had a piercing in a place other than the ear lobe.

When compared to the 41- to 64-year-old age group, there is a major increase.

Only 10 percent of that age group had or have a tattoo, and only 6 percent had or have a piercing in a place other than the ear lobe.

City’s stance

Nikki Ripley, communication and media-relations director for the city of Tempe, said Tempe does not have an employee policy on tattoos and piercings.

“As a citywide matter, there is no policy,” she said.

However, she added that police departments and fire departments have different policies.

The Tempe Police Department and the Tempe Fire Department both have many policies regarding tattoos and piercings.

The police department allows nonoffensive tattoos done before July 1, 2001, on uniformed employees who were employed prior to July 1, 2001. Everyone else must cover tattoos while on duty, Ripley said.

New tattoos are allowed but should be hidden from view while on duty.

The fire department’s policies and procedures state that “sexually explicit, immoral” or tattoos that “express radical social statements” are not accepted.

The policies state that all appearance and image-related rules are because of the effort to maintain safety and professionalism.

“This regulation provides standards for our safety and professional public image,” according to the policy.

Reach the reporter at reweaver@asu.edu.