This is a great piece... that I need to read again and consider.

I would like to peaceably disagree with one thought:

no one has any right to apply judgments about what I do with my body, how I adorn it, or choose to make myself present.

I think that they do. We all do. We make judgements all the time - and I'm not talking about negative, judgy, put-down-others stuff - I'm talking about... assessments.

As I drove down San Fernando Blvd, I made assessments/judgements on which restaurant I wanted to take my family to. That one looks too expensive. That one looks like a dive (and not in a good way). That one looks like something my kids wouldn't like. Ahh... here's a freaking Del Taco with only one guy sleeping in the alleyway. We'll go there. (Mostly because I'm tired of dragging the gut - and everyone is hungry).

Whether it's restaurants in Burbank or people in the workplace - we all make judgements. If we judge poorly, we miss out on opportunities.

I guess my point is - we all assess the world around us. Some one may look at your body mods and think "How unprofessional - we could never hire/promote her" but you might look at some one with a body mod and think "Holy crap! That looks awesome!" Both are assessments. Both are judgements, and you both have the right to make them. And as crappy as it is... an employer can choose to hire or not hire based on their's.