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In the 1960s U.S., a tattoo was usually
a sign of anti-social or
illegal activity.
Few people had
them. Today, at least
one in five
Americans has a tattoo, including
sports stars,
actors and young professionals.
in the 1960s U.S.: en los Estados Unidos de los años 60; tattoo:
tatuaje; sign: señal, símbolo; anti-social or illegal activity:
actividad o comportamiento antisocial o ilegal; few people had them:
pocas personas los tenían; at least: al menos; one in five: uno de
cada cinco; sports stars: deportistas o atletas estrella;
But some
people say tattoos
still have no
place at work. Many
well-known companies
have “no visible
tattoo” policies.
still have no
place: todavía no están 100% permitidos; well-known: famosas; no
visible tattoo policies: politicas claras o definidas sobre los tatuajes;
However,
some industries are not so
strict when it
comes to tattoos. And some
are changing to reflect a
more “tat-friendly”
culture.
however: sin embargo; so strict: tan estrictas; when it comes to
tattoos: en cuanto a los tatuajes; tat-friendly culture: cultura
amigable hacia las personas tatuadas;
During any
workday commute in
Washington, D.C., you will see
people dressed in
different kinds of business
clothes -- suits,
brown
khaki
pants and collared shirts,
modest dresses and
skirts. D.C. has a large
government workforce along
with many
politicians and lawyers. As a
result, most people
dress in a conservative
way.
workday
commute: traslado de ida y vuelta en un día laborable; kinds of:
clases de; suits: trajes; khaki pants: pantalones color caqui;
collared shirts: camisas con cuello; modest: comunes y corrientes;
large government workforce: enorme fuerza laboral del gobierno; along
with: así como; politicians: políticos; lawyers: abogados;
as a result: como consecuencia; dress: se visten; in a
conservative way: de manera tradicionalista;
On a crowded
subway train one
morning, a young
woman stands out. She is wearing
shorts and a tank
top. However, it is not her
clothes that make
her look different from
her fellow
commuters. It’s her arm.
on a crowded subway train: en un atestado tren del metro; stands out:
llama la atención (phrasal verb); tank top: camiseta sin mangas; that
make her look different from: que la hacen ver distinta de; fellow
commuters: compañeros de viaje; arm: brazo;
She has a large,
brightly colored
tattoo of a beautiful woman
with long dark
hair, wearing a
red scarf and jewels. The
tattoo covers the
top of her left
arm.
brightly
colored: de vivos colores; red scarf: chalina roja; jewels:
joyas; the top of: la parte superior de; left arm: brazo izquierdo;
Her name
is Erin DeRosa. She is a 26-year-old
hair stylist. Ms.
DeRosa says her
college friends
warned her to not get
such large tattoos.
They told her
the tattoos -- or “tats” for
short -- would
make it hard for her to
get a job.
a 26-year-old: de 26 años; hair stylist: estilista, peluquera;
college friends: compañeros de universidad; warned her to not get: le
advirtieron que no usara; such large: tan grandes; "tats" for short:
abreviatura de tattoos (tatuajes); would make it hard for her to get a
job: le dificultarían conseguir un puesto de trabajo;
Not so,
says Ms. DeRosa. She
says the hair
industry puts importance on
creativity
and individuality.
not so:
no es así; hair industry: industria peluquera;
So, showing
her tattoos
actually helps her
career. She says that
her clients do
not get “freaked out” or are not
upset by her
tattoos. She says that her
salon is a modern
one, suggesting that perhaps
in a more conservative
salon, customers
might be freaked out by her
tattoos.
actually: en realidad, de hecho; do not get "freaked out": no se
espantan; upset by: molestos por; perhaps: quizás; might:
podrían;
Her mother,
however, is a different
story. Her mother
does not like
tattoos.
however:
sin embargo; is a different story: es otro cantar (no piensa lo mismo);
Ms. DeRosa
says when her
mom came to DC
for a visit she had to wear
long sleeves the
entire time.
to
wear long sleeves: usar mangas largas; the entire time: todo el
tiempo;
CREATIVE INDUSTRIES VS. TRADITIONAL INDUSTRIES.
Erin DeRosa
belongs to a creative
industry that accepts
tattoos in the workplace.
Fashion, graphic
design and technology industries
are also
lax,
or not strict, about
workers having
tattoos. But industries such
as medical and financial are
more traditional
about workers’ appearance.
belongs to: pertenece a; lax: permisivas, no estrictas; having:
que usan; financial: financieras; appearance: aspecto;
These
observations are from Natasha
Olinger, a human resource,
or hiring, specialist.
Ms. Olinger has been an
HR specialist in
Washington, D.C. for the past
decade.
human
resource or hiring specialist: especialista en recursos humanos o
contratación de servicios; HR: abreviatura de Human Resources;
“So, I
think the ... the industries that are
more
lax
now are the tech and
creative industries. But the
ones that are still
kind of strict are the
medical professions, the
legal professions... and
banks.”
tech = technology: de la tecnología; the ones that: las (industrias)
que; are still kind of strict: son todavía algo estrictas;
The stricter
industries, explains
Ms. Olinger, are
mostly what she calls, “customer-facing.”
People in medicine,
law and finance
must deal with the
public face-to-face.
If an employee
represents a company, that company
usually has a right to
say how their
employees should
look.
the stricter industries: las industrias más estrictas; mostly: en su
mayoría; customer-facing: que tratan en forma personal y directa con el
público; must deal with ... face-to-face: deben relacionarse con ... cara
a cara (en persona); has a right to say: tiene derecho a definir; how
their ... should look: cómo debe ser el aspecto de sus ...;
Many jobs
in the technology industry are not
customer-facing. They are
back-end jobs and
have little face-to-face
time with
customers. So, appearance
is not as important.
back-end jobs: trabajos no expuestos al público;
The tech
industry is where a woman
named Melissa
Thomas has worked for the past
20 years. Ms.
Thomas is a 47-year-old
self-employed technology expert.
She mainly works
with the federal government
supporting its software
needs.
named: de
nombre; self-employed: trabajador independiente; mainly:
principalmente; supporting its software needs: dando soporte a sus
requerimientos de programación;
Ms. Thomas
got a small tattoo
when she was in her 20s,
even though her
father opposed the
idea. But when Ms.
Thomas turned 40, she
decided it was time to
get the tattoos she has
always wanted – a
lot of them.
even though: aún cuando; turned 40: cumplió 40 años;
Ms. Thomas
explains she chose
tattoo designs that are important
to her in some way.
She says she loves
Japanese culture. So,
one of her arms
has a full
sleeve
of brightly
colored Japanese-looking tattoos.
A bright blue fish
swimming upstream
shows determination, something
in which she believes.
chose: escogió; swimming upstream: río arriba, contra la corriente;
Ms. Thomas
says she loves
water. So, a waterfall
flows down her
arm. Washington, D.C. is
known for cherry
blossoms. So, she chose
some cherry
blossom tattoos to celebrate
the city where her
son was born.
a waterfall flows: una cascada corre; cherry blossoms: flores de
cerezo; was born: nació;
Her other
arm is a work-in-progress. She
says the tattoos are
incomplete because
her favorite artist
started taking
drugs again. She did not
want drugs
connected to her body
art so she stopped
going to him. This is
actually one of the
common opinions
people have about
tattoos – that the people
who have them
take drugs.
a work-in-progress:
un trabajo en curso (no completado aún); started taking drugs: comenzó a
consumir drogas; body art: arte corporal; stopped going: dejó de
ir; that the people who have them: que las personas que los usan
(tatuajes);
Ms. Thomas
was thoughtful, not only
about the content, but
also the location of
her tattoos. She
explains that she stopped the
tattoos at her wrists
so she can hide
them, all of them,
when she needs to or
wants to. Speaking at a
crowded private
swimming pool near
Washington, D.C., Ms.
Thomas shows her
tattoos proudly.
thoughtful:
detallista, cuidadosa; content: contenido (del tatuaje); location:
ubicación; at her wrists: a la altura de sus muñecas; she can hide
them: ella puede ocultarlos; all of them: a todos; crowded:
llena de gente; proudly: con orgullo;
“For me,
because I respect my
clients, there are
situations where I call it
buttoning down. For the
professional part of it, I
stopped at my
wrists, knowing that I could
button down and I’d be
fine.”
buttoning down: abotonarse la ropa (para que no se vean los tatuajes);
Ms. Thomas
is realistic about the
effect her tattoos
can have on others
and on her career. The
word she uses is “naïve,”
or innocently unaware, to
describe people
with tattoos who
think any work
situation will accept
their body art.
realistic
about: realista sobre; on others: sobre otras personas; naïve:
ingenuo;
“I think that’s
somewhat
naïve,
I do, because we’re
still in a time
where if you weren’t
working at a tattoo
shop, if you
weren’t working in a salon,
if maybe you
were going for a
job in the financial district
or at one of our
banking centers in this country
you probably wouldn’t
get the job if
you had a t-shirt on and
you were tattooed.
Right? But then I think that
(the speaker says "what")
you
would get the job
if you were
dressed appropriately and, you
know, this can just keep it
(tattoos) to yourself.”
a t-shirt on:
si te vistieras con una camiseta; you were tattoed: estuvieras tatuado/a;
appropriately: adecuadamente. |
