It's honestly a bit ridiculous that there's still a stigma in the workplace that comes with having tattoos and hair that's dyed an unnatural color. As I write this, my hair is two colors, black and pale blue-green, and throughout the black, there are hints of the pink and purple it was before that. Soon it's going to be a dark purple. And, surprise! It doesn't reflect on my ability to be a professional in the workplace.

Surprise! It didn't affect my performance as a babysitter. Surprise! It didn't affect my performance as a cashier. Surprise! I, as a person, did not change when I dyed my hair. Weird how that works, right?

The same goes for people with tattoos. I have a lot of friends with ink up and down their arms, on their backs, on their legs, on their feet. They were fun, nice and quirky people before they paid for artwork to be put on their bodies (and yes, they are aware that it is permanent, and, yes, they are aware that those tattoos might not look as great as they get older).

So, what's the deal with the whole "it's unprofessional to have tattoos/unnatural colored hair" thing? Why are there dress codes in workplaces that prohibits dying your hair an unnatural color? My friend's sister had to re-dye her hair a natural color because she had gotten a job at a bank and any unnatural colored hair was "unprofessional".

What happened to self-expression?

As someone who dyes her hair quite frequently and has mentioned numerous times a desire for tattoos, I've been met with dirty looks and people who tell me that I'll never get a good job to support myself and/or a future family if I continue to dye my hair or follow through with getting any tattoos. My parents have such a distaste of tattoos that they've asked for me to wait to get one until I've graduated college and am on my own with no reliance on them for any form of financial support. When I dyed my hair a mix of shades of pink and purple, my mom and one of my aunts both stated very definitively that they "were not fans" and claimed that I was just going through a "quiet rebellious phase".

What, exactly, am I supposedly rebelling? What was my pink and purple hair rebelling against? The patriarchy? My family's love, attention, and expectations? Why did I have to be rebelling in order to dye my hair something fun, something I wouldn't naturally be able to have? I just thought it was cute and wanted to try it for myself, thanks.

It doesn't cause harm to anyone else. Hell, it doesn't even cause any harm to yourself. Maybe I'll never understand why it bothers so many people, or why they seem to think that it's still a sign of a certain level of immaturity or rebellion.

But hopefully, as the times continue to move forward, we can move past stigmas and stereotypes like these that bar people from better jobs and better pay.