
In China, tattoos border on illegal – and they're his life's work - petethomas
https://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-china-tattoos-20190416-story.html
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forkLding
Tattoos are generally stigmatized in most of East Asia: China, Korea, Japan
and cultures affected by these countries.

Although there are some ties to the past with tattoos predominantly being used
by outlaws, criminals, prisoners, slaves (prisoners and slaves were branded
with tattoos on the face to ensure people knew who they were and was also
considered a punishment of its own) or soldiers (in certain periods of
history, soldiers weren't respected in China and considered a lowly job as
there was a high chance of death and they often were involved in pillaging in
the more chaotic times), modern-day stigma is from criminals and gangsters who
would use tattoos to differentiate themselves and show themselves as "hard and
not to be messed with" or to inspire courage within themselves.

Nowadays its a bit more relaxed but even now people will hide tattoos in job
interviews because it can mean an automatic rejection.

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kibwen
Note that despite the fact that tattoos are rather normalized in the West, the
default stance is still to hide them during job interviews, with varying
degrees of leniency depending on industry and region (e.g. Microsoft probably
doesn't care if its programmers are tattooed, though it will for its corporate
salespeople).

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mywittyname
To be fair, the default stance on interview attire for men is a suit, which
covers like 95% of a persons body.

~~~
Pfhreak
It's probably not the default? I'd guess that most men _don 't_ wear suits to
interviews. I didn't wear a suit when I was applying to be a baker. Or when I
worked at Costco. Or any of the software jobs I've had. Or even when applying
to be a manager.

A button down and a decent pair of jeans, maybe. But I can think of 0 times
I've worn a suit to an interview.

~~~
alistairSH
Regional? A suit is the norm in DC for most industries, including software.
I've only interviewed one candidate (in DC) who dressed casually. Two or three
in suits w/out a tie or a blazer and dress pants. The rest were in a standard
suit with a tie.

Bangalore was the opposite end of the spectrum. Not only casual attire but a
casual attitude to the interview in general (cell phone on the bus, in the
park, etc). I don't know if that would hold for local, in-person interviews,
but was true for video interviews (development team is split 50/50 between DC
metro and Bangalore, with managers in both locations).

At my employer, arm or neck tattoos would be noticed, but probably not impact
a developers job prospects. Management might be a different story.

My wife is in banking and a suit is 100% expected at interviews. And tattoos
covered. And piercings anywhere but the ear removed. A face or neck tattoo
would likely be an immediate disqualifier for a job at HQ and probably also in
their call centers or branches. Of course, they also dress true business
casual every day (no jeans, men wear jackets, etc).

~~~
FiddlyPack
...huh. Interviewing in VA/MD, only once had a candidate wear a suit. Nice
shirt and blazer with jeans/slacks seems to be the norm. I wonder if it’s
micro-regional to DC? Or something about the specific software industry you
are in?

~~~
setr
My understanding has been that most large companies, especially those older
than like 15-20 years, in the east coast follow suit-culture for white-collar
work; the minimum being business casual for daily work (not eg meetings with
execs).

This difference being the quintessential culture shift compared to california
(aka silicon valley) dress code, with shorts and shirt being a _very direct_
reaction to it

But this is based on hearsay and history; I’m not old enough to experience it
myself ;)

~~~
alistairSH
That certainly fits both my employer and my wife's.

Both are large and old.

When I meet with clients in any sort of sales capacity, I wear a suit. Daily
wear is nice casual (jeans, button down shirt). Conventions or site visits are
pants and a jacket, no tie.

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HAL9000Ti
Look guys I don't know what's going on with all these China news but as a
european who's lived in china several years, a lot of it seems wrong. I was in
south China for a year recently and many people had visible tattoos, just as
many as west europeans. And nobody cared. At all.

~~~
honkycat
A bit of a mirror version of people's assumption that southerners in the
United States all talk with a drawl and wear cowboy hats.

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wensheng
I don't understand tattoo, it's like wearing the same cloth (i.e. a T-shirt)
every day, for the rest of your life.

I do think there's market for more colorful, longer lasting temporary tattoos.
(Might be a startup idea for ya)

~~~
MisterTea
If using that line of logic, Do you also complain that you can't change your
face?

Tattoos are an extension of your identity that you get to customize to your
liking. The art is an expression of who you are and your body is the canvas.
Of course you might think it not necessary or pleasent but to quote The Dude:
"Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man."

Personally I don't have any but If I did they would tell a story about me. And
that story is my identity, my brand. You can then experiment with clothing
that reveals different things if you like. I have a few friends that get deep
into the art and fashion they use to accentuate them. It does have an appeal
and to some looks attractive. YMMV, etc.

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SEJeff
Before reading the article, I was thinking that many Triads tattoo women in
their family with large dragon tattoos (I dated one of these girls when her
family moved to Los Angeles). It was weirdly explained to me that if a man
tried to hurt her and saw those tattoos he would be afraid of the Triad and
leave her alone. I found the entire concept a bit repulsive, but it isn't my
culture.

The article's claim that tattoos are associated with gangsters lines up with
this.

~~~
duncan-donuts
The history of tattooing is vast, as with any subculture. There's a lot of
history with bikers, gangs, tribes, artists, healers, etc. You should read
about the history of Russian prison tattoos[1]. I'm biased because I am a
tattooed person. All that being said tattooing isn't just for gangsters.
Humans have a long history of marking their bodies permanently[2].

1) [https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/9bzvbp/russian-
criminal-t...](https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/9bzvbp/russian-criminal-
tattoo-fuel-damon-murray-interview-876) 2)
[https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/tattoos-144038580/](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/tattoos-144038580/)

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vichu
In South Korea, tattoos _are_ illegal, but it hasn't stopped artists from
creating - and creating some truly beautiful work. Tattoos have become
relatively mainstream and millennials (though I hate the term) have widely
adopted tattoos as commonplace. It's striking to see the cultural differences
between East Asia and the western world, perception around tattoos being just
one of them. Tattoos are particularly interesting because of the influence
Asian artists have had on the culture and ethos of the art despite the
widespread suppression of it. I'd love to hear a perspective on why it's
evolved to be so different - and I do suspect it has to do with organized
crime playing a large part (i.e. the Yakuza and the Triads).

~~~
gdhbcc
Tattoos are not illegal in South Korea, neither having them or making them is
illegal.

It is simply classified as a form of acupuncture and regulated accordingly.

~~~
nomnomray
While tattooing is technically illegal in South Korea... [0]

[0]
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tattooing_in_South_Korea](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tattooing_in_South_Korea)

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Simulacra
My husband used to work at one of the top lobbying firms in Washington DC. He
told me they had a standing rule that if they saw a tattoo on someone, unless
they were a former member of Congress or some very high ranking staff person,
they wouldn’t hire them. Not even for the internship program. There was
paranoia that the wrong tattoo could scare off a potential client.

~~~
vernie
You mean to tell me that lobbyists aren't cool and easy-going?

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wholien
Lived in Shanghai for a long time. There are more and more people getting
visible tattoos.

> "Even now, it is rare to see tattoos in the street or public life."

Maybe in smaller towns but it's pretty prevalent in Shanghai, Beijing etc.

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jokoon
Fix that title

