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

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  • Baumann, Chris
  • Timming, Andrew R.
  • Gollan, Paul J.

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.

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  • Baumann, Chris & Timming, Andrew R. & Gollan, Paul J., 2016. "Taboo tattoos? A study of the gendered effects of body art on consumers' attitudes toward visibly tattooed front line staff," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 31-39.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:29:y:2016:i:c:p:31-39
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2015.11.005
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    Cited by:

    1. Fernandes, Teresa & Nettleship, Heather & Pinto, Luísa Helena, 2022. "Judging a book by its cover? The role of unconventional appearance on social media influencers effectiveness," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    2. Lim, Heejin An & Im, Hyunjoo, 2023. "It's the little “stings†: Racial microaggressions against Asian American customers in retail and their effects," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    3. Sung-Bum Kim & Seunghwan Lee & Dae-Young Kim, 2018. "The effect of service providers’ facial hair on restaurant customers’ perceptions," Service Business, Springer;Pan-Pacific Business Association, vol. 12(2), pages 277-303, June.
    4. Ruffle, Bradley J. & Wilson, Anne E., 2019. "Tat will tell: Tattoos and time preferences," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 566-585.
    5. Kincaid, Paula A. & Short, Jeremy C. & Wolfe, Marcus T., 2022. "Got ink, get paid? Exploring the impact of tattoo visibility on crowdfunding performance," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 17(C).
    6. Andrew R. Timming & David Ian Perrett, 2017. "An experimental study of the effects of tattoo genre on perceived trustworthiness: Not all tattoos are created equal," Journal of Trust Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(2), pages 115-128, July.

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