In San Francisco where creativity flows as freely as the Bay breeze, students embrace ink as a celebration of self-expression. Tattoos are a badge of individuality, transforming bodies into canvases that tell stories, honor experiences and reflect personal journeys.
Aidan Leggatt, a sophomore Media Studies major, explained the sentimental value of his maple leaf tattoo, “My grandpa and I used to go to a lot of Blue Jays baseball games, they’re Canadian. So it’s just a maple leaf for my grandpa with his birthday.” Hanna Hearn, a senior marketing major, also has a tattoo dedicated to familial bonds. Hearn’s tattoo features an Aries woman and Gemini woman facing each other. “I wrote a poem in 11th grade of highschool about my sister and our relationship and how I think we balance each other out. She’s very symbolic of the sun to me and I feel like I’m very symbolic of the moon. We have this balanced energy, so the tattoo was based around that,” Hearn said.
Selecting a design and artist is a personal process. Kendall Block, senior media studies major, has over a dozen tattoos, and finds inspiration across social media platforms. “One I have on my arm is by Yoshitomo Nara. […] And then there’s another one, Aya Takano, they post their art on Instagram and promote people getting it tattooed.” Block said.
The process of getting a tattoo can be both exciting and anxiety inducing. “I was a lot more anxious going into it. And then when we started, I realized it was nothing,” Leggatt said. “I fell asleep ten minutes later. It’s kind of relaxing.”
Hearn disagreed. “I just feel like, for both piercings and tattoos, every time people would tell me it doesn’t hurt and it always hurts. […] My first tattoo was especially bad because it was on my ribs. That one hurt a lot because it was on the bone and also that’s my biggest tattoo, it took like two hours.” she said.
“I don’t regret any of them,” said Ethan Christo, a senior education major, who has 10 tattoos. “Some of them are better than others but they kind of just become part of your body. And then sometimes they can develop meanings after you get them as well.” Hearn agreed. “There was this tattoo artist in Berkeley I had been following for like two years. […] One day they had a flash sale [and] I got this beautiful lily on my arm. At the time it didn’t mean anything but I’ve been getting really close with my childhood friend Lily King. She goes to Berkeley and we reconnected, I’ve known her since like sixth grade. So now when I look at it I think of her.”
Some people navigate how their body art intersects with their professional aspirations. Block, who is entering the makeup and design sector of the film industry said “Honestly now, there are a lot more people working who have a lot of tattoos because our generation is filling the workspace more. They’re just more accepting.”
Christo shared his experience in education saying: “I’ve done teaching fieldwork […] The kids love [my tattoos]. They’re always so curious about them.”
Sohini Majumdar, an adjunct professor in the history department, has been teaching for over five and a half years. “In my experience, I haven’t really come across any instance in my career where a student has been judged based on tattoos or professors have approached them differently just because of their tattoos. […] I’m talking specifically about academic spaces such as universities, where it’s a more liberal place where people are more safe to show who they are.”
While arts and education fields may be more liberal, many work environments still stigmatize tattoos. Hearn is going into the business and law field and attended the Beta Gamma Sigma International Business Honors Society Conference. “Being in spaces like that I found myself thinking maybe I should bring long sleeve shirts or flip my nose ring up. […] It’s still being instilled in us that professional fields are not accepting of that type of stuff.”
As students navigate their relationships with body art, they highlight both the liberating aspects of self expression and the complexities of societal perceptions. For anyone thinking of getting a tattoo, Hearn said “If your biggest concern is the job market or your parents hating it or anything like that, I definitely wouldn’t let that be a reason to deter you from getting tattoos. I think tattoos look sick. It’s okay to want a tattoo just because it looks cool or pretty or whatever. It doesn’t have to have a super significant meaning. Or it can. You can get whatever you want. At the end of the day it’s your body and you can do whatever you want with it.”
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