According to my CV I’m an educated, experienced adult with an aptitude for the medical sciences & a passion for activism. People have described me as talented, motivated, & determined. Those who know me better would probably say I’m a stubborn workaholic, but that’s beside the point. I have, however, made a choice that clearly negates all my potential attributes; I chose to let someone decorate me with gems & pictures.

I have 4 piercings & 2 tattoos. I have at least 3 more tattoos lined up that will be added to my body over the next few years, & am seriously considering getting another piercing too. Apparently, this makes me ugly, vain, irresponsible, unintelligent, obnoxious, unapproachable, & the spawn of Satan herself. Quite seriously, if people could use a crucifix to banish me, they probably would.

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Admittedly these procedures are expensive & have serious risks, both in terms of how they look afterwards & in relation to health, but there are ways to counteract this. I work & save hard, using my own earnt money to pay for the procedures. I often have a design in mind for months, if not years, & if I still like it after all that time chances are I’ll continue to like it going forwards. I also only use experienced, hygienic artists who have excellent credentials, & I strictly follow the after-care procedures. However, the fact that I will take the chance at all stands against me.

In getting tattoos & piercings I am supporting a local, independent business, something which I have struggled to do due to inaccessibility. I have been called horrendous names for using corporate businesses & chains when steps prevent me entering small businesses, but apparently a tattoo parlour doesn’t count. Yet no one has ever been able to give me an adequate answer when I query why.

The truth of the matter is that, frankly, I get tattoos & piercings to benefit myself. I have long had issues with body confidence as a result of relentless school bullying. Prior to getting my right shoulder tattooed I would feel self-conscious every time I wore a vest, & only had one or two in my wardrobe, because I didn’t like the way they looked. Now that I have a tattoo to detract from any flaws, the only time I stop wearing vests is when it is too cold. Everyone deserves to feel comfortable in their own skin, & for me that meant getting decorated like a humanoid Christmas tree.

For me, getting tattoos is about taking back control (not in the Brexit way) of my own body; for too long it has been at the mercy of chronic illnesses & doctors & will always be that way to some extent, but this means I can have some control over my body again. That’s worth more than a few hundred pounds to me.

At the end of the day, people who have tattoos should be stereotyped as patient – it takes hours even for simple jobs. They are also decisive, creative, & can follow instructions. It takes something special for someone to sit still for hours on end while someone stabs them repeatedly with seven needles.

Tattoos & piercings are not for everyone, & no one should ever feel like they have to get one. However, assigning negative traits to someone just because they have tattoos is equally ridiculous & is as daft as discriminating against someone because they use a wheelchair…oh… There are some amazing people on this planet who you might be ignoring purely based on their looks. Don’t judge a book by it’s cover, & don’t judge a human by their skin (FYI, also applies to racism).