Skip to main content
Have a personal or library account? Click to login
Acceptance of Tattoos in the Hospitality Industry Cover

Acceptance of Tattoos in the Hospitality Industry

By:  and    
Open Access
|Sep 2026

References

  1. Atkinson M.M. (2003). Tattooed: The sociogenesis of a body art. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. DOI:10.3138/9781442680364
  2. DeMello M. (2014). Inked: Tattoos and body art around the world. ABC-CLIO. DOI:10.5040/9798400670343
  3. Kowalewska J., Kowalewska B., Ostaszewska-Puchalska I., Krajewska-Kułak E. (2021). Social perception of tattoos and people with tattoos. Uniwersytet Medyczny w Białymstoku, Białystok. Retrieved 10 February 2026 from https://www.umb.edu.pl/photo/pliki/WNoZ_jednostki/wnoz-z-zintegrowanej-opieki-medycznej/monografie/spoleczne_postrzeganie_tatuazy_i_ludzi_z_tatuazami.pdf [in Polish]
  4. Sweetman P. (1999). Anchoring the (postmodern) self? Body modification, fashion and identity. Body & Society 5(2-3), 51-76. DOI: 10.1177/1357034X99005002004
  5. DeMello M. (2000). Bodies of inscription: A cultural history of the modern tattoo community. Duke University Press. DOI: 10.2307/j.ctv1168d0t
  6. Wohlrab S., Stahl J., Kappeler P.M. (2007). Modifying the body: Motivations for getting tattooed and pierced. Body Image 4(1), 87-95. DOI: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2006.12.001
  7. Swanger N. (2006). Visible body modification (VBM): evidence from human resource managers and recruiters and the effects on employment. International Journal of Hospitality Management 25(1), 154-158. DOI: 10.1016/j. ijhm.2004.12.004
  8. Resenhoeft A., Villa J., Wiseman D. (2008). Tattoos can harm perceptions: A study and suggestions. Journal of American College Health 56(5), 593-596. DOI: 10.3200/JACH.56.5.593-596
  9. Dean D.H. (2011). Young adult perception of visible tattoos on a white-collar service provider. Young Consumers 12(3), 254-264. DOI: 10.1108/17473611111163304
  10. Timming A.R. (2015). Visible tattoos in the service sector: A new challenge to recruitment and selection. Work, Employment and Society 29(1), 60-78. DOI: 10.1177/0950017014528402
  11. Antczak D., Nowak P., Szymkowiak A. (2024). The impact of tattoos as an appearance feature on the perception of cabin crew in the opinion of highly sensitive people. Marketing i Rynek XXXI(5), 54-67. DOI: 10.33226/1231-7853.2024.5.5 [in Polish]
  12. Miernicka I. (2020). Employee appearance requirements as an interference with individual freedom. Warszawa: Wolters Kluwer Polska. [in Polish]
  13. Nickson D., Warhurst C., Dutton E. (2005). The importance of attitude and appearance in the service encounter in retail and hospitality. Managing Service Quality 15(2), 195-208. DOI: 10.1108/09604520510585370
  14. Warhurst C., Nickson D. (2007). Employee experience of aesthetic labour in retail and hospitality. Work, Employment and Society 21(1), 103-120. DOI: 10.1177/0950017007073622
  15. Jones J., Manoharan A., Madera J. M. (2024). Lookism in hospitality and tourism workplaces: A multilevel review and research agenda. International Journal of Hospitality Management 123, 103909. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhm.2024.103909
  16. French M.T., Mortensen K., Timming A.R. (2018). Are tattoos associated with employment and wage discrimination? Analyzing the relationships between body art and labor market outcomes. Human Relations 72(5), 962-987. DOI: 10.1177/0018726718782597
  17. Wu L., King C.A., Lu L., Guchait P. (2020). Hospitality aesthetic labor management: Consumers’ and prospective employees’ perspectives of hospitality brands. International Journal of Hospitality Management 87, 102373. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhm.2019.102373
  18. Jeznach M., Tul-Krzyszczuk A., Niewęgłowska G. (2016). The importance of the hotel staff in building relationships with customers (case study). Ekonomiczne Problemy Turystyki 2(34), 143-153. DOI: 10.18276/ept.2016.2.34-12 [in Polish]
  19. Tews M.J., Stafford K. (2020). Tattoos and unfavorable treatment among employees in the hospitality industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 32(5), 1925-1940. DOI: 10.1108/ijchm-08-2019-0712
  20. Efthymiou L. (2018). Worker body-art in upper-market hotels: Neither accepted, nor prohibited. International Journal of Hospitality Management 74, 99-108. DOI: 10.1016/j. ijhm.2018.02.012
  21. Hopf V. (2018). Does the body modified appearance of front-line employees matter to hotel guests? Research in Hospitality Management 8(1), 67-72. DOI: 10.1080/22243534.2018.1501959
  22. Miroński J., Rao R. (2019). Perception of tattoos and piercings in the service industry. The Polish Journal of Economics 300(4), 131-147. DOI: 10.33119/GN/113065
  23. CBOS. (2017). Fashion for tattoos. Research report, 113, Fundacja Centrum Badania Opinii Społecznej. Retrieved 23 January 2026 from https://www.cbos.pl/SPISKOM.POL/2017/K_113_17.PDF [in Polish]
  24. Goffman E. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday Retrieved 25 January 2026 from https://monoskop.org/images/1/19/Goffman_Erving_The_Presentation_of_Self_in_Everyday_Life.pdf
  25. Nickson D.P., Warhurst C. (2007). Opening Pandora’s box: Aesthetic labour and hospitality. In: P. Lynch, A. Morrison, C. Lashley (Eds.), Hospitality: A social lens (pp. 155-171). Amsterdam: Elsevier.
  26. Boon B. (2007). Working within the front-of-house/back-of-house boundary: Room attendants in the hotel guest room space. Journal of Management & Organization 13(2), 160-174. DOI: 10.5172/jmo.2007.13.2.160
  27. Efthymiou L., Orphanidou Y., Panayiotou G. (2020). Delineating the changing frontstage and backstage segregation in high-end and luxury hotels. Hospitality & Society 10(3), 287-312. DOI: 10.1386/hosp_00025_1
  28. Sumerau J.E., Denise E.J., Cragun R.T. (2017). Oh my God, I sound like a horrible person: Generic processes in the conditional acceptance of sexual and gender diversity. Symbolic Interaction 41(1), 62-82. DOI: 10.1002/symb.326
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/pjst-2026-0019 | Journal eISSN: 2082-8799 | Journal ISSN: 1899-1998
Language: English
Page range: 45 - 54
Submitted on: May 6, 2026
Accepted on: Jul 30, 2026
Published on: Sep 25, 2026
Published by: University of Physical Education in Warsaw
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

© 2026 Monika Widz, Wiktoria Staniek, published by University of Physical Education in Warsaw
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.