Tattoo on forehead has brought unwelcome reaction

When people see Camilla Nhamercedes' tattoo, they usually ask about it.

It's a deep blue crescent moon on the forehead of the 49-year-old Millerton woman that is high enough that her bangs usually cover it.

She said she got it four years ago at Bring Your Skin in Elmira, and considers the design very personal.

"It represents my connection to God, and the location also represents my connection to my Wiccan learnings. ...When people see it, they ask questions and make assumptions which are usually far off the mark," she said.

Along with the attention, Camilla said her tattoo brought another thing: discrimination.

She said that it's difficult to get through the entire job interview process without her tattoo becoming a hindrance. She says that most interviewers she's encountered are quite traditional, and don't ask about her tattoo, but she can tell that they are taken aback by it.

She said that her teachers at her adult education program even insisted that she find makeup to completely cover her tattoo so she could prepare for the work force. Camilla recalls one time where she completed an interview fairly successfully, only to have the interviewer notice her tattoo as she was shaking his hand. He stared at her and then drew his hand back as if it had been burned, she said.

Camilla said she has never judged people based on their physical appearance, so she finds the treatment she has received hard to understand. She added that the manner in which potential employers have reacted to her tattoo has been frustrating.

"They just kind of look at me weird and then I hear later from word-of-mouth that that was the reason they didn't hire me," she said