Taboo tattoos? A study of the gendered effects of body art on consumers' attitudes toward visibly tattooed front line staff

Abstract

The purpose of this experiment is to examine the gendered effects of body art on consumers' attitudes toward visibly tattooed employees. We analyse the reaction of 262 respondents with exposure to male and female front line staff in two distinct job contexts: a surgeon and an automobile mechanic. The results demonstrate differences on three dimensions: a) job context, b) sex of face and c) stimulus (i.e., tattooed or not). We demonstrate significant interaction effects on those three dimensions, and our findings point to the intersectionality of gender-based and tattoo-based discrimination. Consumers have a negative reaction to body art, but perceptions of tattoos on male and female front line staff differ significantly. A key marketing challenge is how to balance employees' individual rights to self-expression and at the same time cater to consumers' expectations regarding appearance of staff. Our study forms the basis for this debate that is only just emerging.

Body art as branded labour: At the intersection of employee selection and relationship marketing

“…Studies have shown that women are subject to significant prejudice on the basis of their tattoos (Swami and Furnham, 2007;Baumann et al, 2016), and indeed Study 2 confirms this much. However, the results of Study 1, in contrast, suggested that tattoos are associated with increased employability of tattooed women in the nightclub.…”

“…It should be noted that these two job contexts are both in highly aestheticized industries, and that this was by design. Inasmuch as previous research has already been conducted on the effects of body art on consumer preferences in the less aestheticized contexts of an automobile repair shop and a hospital (Baumann et al, 2016), it was decided that the aestheticized contexts of the fine dining restaurant and the nightclub would offer a fruitful contrast.…”

“…For example, Swami and Furnham (2007) found that tattooed women are perceived as less attractive, more promiscuous and heavier drinkers than non-tattooed women. Similarly, Baumann et al (2016) found some evidence that tattooed women employees are rated lower by consumers than are tattooed men in front-line service roles. Thus, we present: H2: Tattooed women will be rated lower on employability than tattooed men.…”

A INFLUÊNCIA DE TATUAGENS NO PROCESSO SELETIVO: um estudo em bancos privados na cidade de Maringá

“…Ela é uma das forças determinantes na primeira impressão deixada pelos funcionários, sendo capaz de criar um conceito sobre suas capacidades e habilidades na mente do cliente (GOSLING et al, 2002;BAUMANN;TIMMING;GOLLAN, 2016;BARBOSA;BRITO;BIZARRIA, 2016 Ao que se refere a profissionais financeiro-monetários (gerente de empréstimo bancário, contador, corretor de bolsa), houve a recorrente aparição das expressões "pouco profissional" e "pouco confiável". Houve, também, a menção de comportamento "impulsivo" e "inexperiente".…”

“…Alguns autores sugerem que um funcionário percebido como similar ao consumidor consegue ser mais persuasivo e melhor aceito do que os considerados como diferentes, sendo que esta interação não se limita ao mundo dos negócios, estendendo-se também às relações sociais (FEICK;HIGIE, 1992;GRAHAM, 1994;SELFHOUT et al, 2009;BAUMANN;TIMMING;GOLLAN, 2016). Diante deste contexto, questiona-se o porquê, então, de um cliente tatuado perceber o funcionário com tatuagens expostas como alguém menos capaz ou merecedor de menos crédito.…”