Six campaigners are tattooed, pierced and on a mission to change negative perceptions of body art and adornment. Tired of suspicious looks and what they perceive as prejudice, they have started a Facebook group and online petition to drum up support for their cause.
“We don’t tolerate public racism or homophobia, so why should we allow discrimination to take place against people with tattoos and piercings,” asked Damian Allison, 32.
They see their Accept Tattoos and Piercings in Malta campaign as a fight for acceptance, tolerance and civil rights.
As of yesterday, about 1,350 people were members of the Facebook group and more than 260 had signed the petition.
It is for anyone “fed up of seeing or suffering discrimination just because they are tattooed, pierced, or both – be it at the workplace, outside with friends or walking around with their kids”.
Mr Allison said the petition was intended to raise awareness among the public and it would eventually be presented to the “relevant authorities”.
“We are not saying ‘anything goes’ at work but why should people be judged on their appearance rather than their abilities? Employers are bowing to prejudice by saying the public don’t want to see tattoos on their employees,” Lyon Xuereb, 27, said.
The other members of the group are Mr Allison’s wife, Kristina Allison Gouder, 26; Mr Xuereb’s girlfriend, Alexia Micallef, 23; and another couple, Jeremy Naser Grech, 23, and Yanika Spiteri, 25.
All six are professionals with Uni-versity degrees.
None of them have ever been dismissed or rejected from a job because of their tattoos or piercings. However, the women all work in education and have to keep their body art hidden in the classroom.
Some Facebook group members even shared stories publicly about being turned down for jobs because of their appearance.
“Tattoos and piercings don’t inhibit your abilities to do your job. You don’t suddenly stop being a good doctor the minute you get a tattoo,” Ms Allison Gouder said.
The police in Malta did not respond to questions on this issue but last year the previous government had asked the force to reconsider its ban on recruiting officers with visible tattoos.
Mr Allison recalled an incident, a few months ago, when he waited outside a woman’s clothes shop while his wife browsed inside. “A policeman kept staring at me so I walked inside because I was feeling uncomfortable. He followed me and only left when he saw me talk to my wife,” he said, shaking his head.
Arriva also takes a dim view of body adornment. In a memo dated last April, the public bus operator informed its employees that they would be fined €25 for having visible tattoos or piercings.
Mr Allison said: “We have to stop judging people by their appearance. We have tattoos and piercings; does that make us less human?”
Visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/tattoos.piercings.malta/ .