Once upon a time I was a hairdresser.
It was in this profession that I met my former spouse, and also learned the stereotypes of people in said profession. Shortly after dating we awoke to the thud of a newspaper landing on my doorstep. "You subscribe to the newspaper?" he asked with surprise. "Why of course. I love reading the paper." As a hairdresser of nearly eighteen years at the time, his experience spoke boldly as he stated, "No hairdresser reads the newspaper."
According to status quo, I should have been standing around during off hours drinking Diet Coke (coffee please) smoking cigarettes (former, thank you) and eating fast food (guilty only at 2:AM after a long night of intoxication. Who the heck isn't?)
Alas, reading the newspaper was nearly unheard of in the overall generalization of the industry. And he's not gay by the way(although that assumption for male hairdressers still greatly applies). So to that I say the heck with stereotypes.
I'd like to think that in the past thirteen years since our conversation, times have changed. And they have in the tattoo world as Rhode Island Library Association plans to launch their 2014 Tattooed Librarians of Ocean State calendar. In effort to ditch the profession's conservative image, promote library services while encouraging funding, as well as spread tattoo acceptance in the workplace, you can can feel good about checking out librarians and their body art why you purchase their full color calendar of librarians gone wild.
Tattoos are a form of self-expression. Like fashion, hair, makeup, shoes, the car you drive, to the motorcycle you ride. Although the tattoo industry will always be a tight-knit community of artists who hopefully hold their craft near and dear, tattoos represent history, and libraries are chock-full of that.
Knocking anyone for wearing tattoos, or perceiving their lifestyle based on having or not having tattoos is really nothing short of ignorant. And you should be shunned if you still believe that. People are free to express themselves and preserve their own history however they'd like, body art included. They don't have to have twenty tattoos, they don't have to any tattoos, nor even have a passion for books for that matter.
But it's sorta chic to be geek. Or should I say cool? Or tough, punk, or old school? I'm so confused but who really cares. Just be you. And support your public library. That part will always be cool. (Except for late fines, as those suck. Not going to lie!)
You can preorder a 2014 inked calendar for home delivery or pick-up by visiting the Rhode Island Library Association website here. Proceeds benefit the library and thus, the entire community. While you're at it, pick up one for your hairdresser so she or he can schedule you in for your next haircut or color.
Image courtesy Shannon Scharff
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