Week 5- The Effects of Isms

According to Derman-Sparks and Olsen Edwards (2010), isms are “the many forms of institutionalized prejudice and discrimination based on social identities…” (p xii). People who hold isms are not always aware that their behavior and interactions are governed by them. Additionally, Derman-Sparks and Olsen Edwards assert that, “because we all have multiple social identities, each of us contains a complex set of internalized privileges and oppressions, with differing balances between the two” (p 27). Internalized oppression occurs when the victim of the ism believes the information about himself as a result of the treatment that he receives from others resulting in psychological consequences. These consequences manifest in behaviors that include denial of affiliation with one’s own culture, adoption of the dominant culture out of a belief that the ways of the dominant culture are better, correct or more acceptable. Rejection of one’s own name, native language, traditions and values may also occur (p 26).

Most recently, I have experienced an ism in the form of discrimination and bias due to my appearance. I have full tattooed sleeves on my arms. At my former place of employment, my supervisor’s supervisor called me into her office after she noticed my tattoos at an after-hours picnic. Although my work associates were attending the picnic, I was not being paid to attend the function and it was not held at our work site. Nothing was mentioned at the picnic. However, the following Monday afternoon my supervisor’s supervisor called me to her office and told me that she was disturbed by my tattoos. She felt that, because I had tattoos, that I must be mentally ill, have a great deal of self-hate (to mutilate myself in this way) or be an intravenous drug addict who used her many tattoos to hide track marks. Additionally, the executive stated that if I must not want to be in the field of early childhood education if I had tattoos (It must be noted that this woman was not in the field of early childhood education, but was a corporate executive whom I rarely saw). At first, I was dumbstruck. I had never heard such a narrow minded rant in my life! Not one of her allegations was even remotely true!  I had always kept my tattoos covered at work, not because there was an explicit policy preventing the staff from showing tattoos, but because I wasn’t certain about the reaction that I would get from parents, other staff and the executives of the company. Curiously enough, at the picnic, many of the parents admired my tattoos, and the children were very interested in “all of the pictures on [my] arm”.  One little girl was so excited that she screamed, “Oh Carey, I lub your tattoos!”. I could not understand from whence the director’s supervisor’s reaction came. In the end, she made it clear that she did not want to see the tattoos, but did not articulate a policy regarding whether or not showing them was prohibited (many other staff showed their tattoos without an adverse reaction) as a rule. It seemed that she did not like my tattoos, but those of others were acceptable to her.

The effects of this episode of discrimination were many. I became aware of the potentially negative thoughts that people might entertain about my tattoos. I found myself apologizing if even a tiny bit of my tattoos were visible. I also began to cover my tattoos in public in my off work hours and revealing them in only certain company. During this time, the children who had seen my tattoos at the picnic were very interested in seeing them again. Both the children and parents asked why I did not show them off more often. I found myself feeling somewhat ashamed of the reaction that I had gotten from the executive regarding my tattoos. I felt very cognizant of how I appeared and was even reluctant to pull my sleeves above my wrists when working with the children in a messy activity. The children noticed this and asked questions. I wonder if the shame that I felt about my tattooed arms sent an unintentional message to the children that somehow tattoos are inappropriate or unacceptable. Many of the parents are tattooed. What if the children carried my unintentional message home to their parents?

Shortly after this incident, I regained my pride in my tattoos. They are an important part of me and symbolize parts of my life that have made me who I am today. They are beautiful pieces of art, but do not solely comprise who I am. I am neither better nor worse than anyone else simply because I am tattooed. I realized that I was the victim of bias and discrimination in the workplace.

Derman-Sparks and Olsen Edwards (2010). Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves. NAEYC: Washington, DC.