For many people, joining the police force is a dream they harbor from a young age. Choosing to serve your local community and help protect innocent people is not only a respectful career choice, but an honor for many officers.

One woman who wanted to "make a difference" is 31-year-old Kathy-Rose Bullen from Melbourne, Australia. But after applying for the police force - a job she believed would suit her perfectly - she was informed that she broke the force's "professional and disciplined" image as a result of her heavily tattooed body.

Related - Meet Amber Luke, one of the most tattooed women in Australia:

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In an interview with news.com.au, Kathy-Rose said:

"I’ve got family in the police force and they said they love it and couldn’t recommend it enough, as the job is fantastic and they believed I would be really good at it if I wanted to pursue it.

"It’s only in the past couple of weeks I began physically training and trying to push myself a bit harder to do it."

However, once Kathy-Rose started looking more closely at the specific entry requirements, she discovered that her multiple inkings could thwart her dreams. Kathy-Rose has much of her body covered in bright and elaborate tattoos - including inkings of Pikachu, Charmander, Darth Vader, Kirby, and Princess Aurora (which I personally am incredibly jealous of, they're literally all my favorite things.)

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Although the Victoria Police force does allow officers to have body art, tattoos on the hands, neck and face are strictly against protocol. Therefore, prior to filling out an application, Kathy-Rose made the decision to contact the police directly to see if her tattoos would rule her out.

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Unfortunately, Kathy-Rose was told her inkings were "contrary to our requirement to portray a professional and disciplined image and would, therefore, be deemed exclusionary."

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Despite feeling disheartened by the news, Kathy-Rose has said she completely respects the requirements set out by Victoria police. Nevertheless, she says she had "no regrets" about her stunning body art. She says:

"I’ve always had good jobs but not an actual career, and it’s a bit disappointing and disheartening that it’s 2019 and [tattoos] are still a bit of an issue.

"It’s disappointing that [a police career] is something I can’t pursue… but I wouldn’t change a thing. I feel like changing yourself physically — unless it’s exercise — just isn’t worth it, and I’ve never been rejected by any employer before based on my appearance.

"I do understand it is written [in the policy] but it is a bit hurtful as there are tattooed officers out there who cover up — just because you can’t see them doesn’t mean they’re not there."

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Since news of Kathy-Rose's story broke, she has received a lot of backlash in comments sections regarding her appearance. It is also raised the questions of whether or not tattoos should ever be taken into consideration in a job application process.

Game of Throne's The Mountain recently shared a video of himself getting a tattoo - while bench-pressing his girlfriend:

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Quite frankly, this is ludicrous. Nobody should ever be targeted as a result of how they look, and most importantly, Kathy-Rose's tattoos would never stop her performing any job. Maybe it's time Victoria police and other companies re-wrote their rulebooks?

After all, the results of a 2018 study from the University of Miami Business School and the University of Western Australia Business School concluded that perceptions of tattoos in the workplace have shifted significantly in recent years. Information from more than 2,000 individuals was collected and showed that - across all 50 US states - the annual earnings of tattooed individuals were "indistinguishable" from those with no inkings.

If you want to follow Kathy-Rose on Instagram, you can do so HERE.

What shouldn't surprise you to learn about 2017's Miss Inked Australia winner Sarah Gray - considering the title - is that she is covered in tattoos. What might surprise you - given how much our preconceptions about people rely on superficial stereotypes - is that Gray is, in fact, training to become a surgeon.

Indeed, the 31-year-old works as an intern at a hospital in Adelaide, and is an aspiring orthopaedic surgeon. A self-described art collector (the art in question being her many tattoos), Gray got her first tattoo at the age of 15 and has been hooked on them ever since.

This woman spent £10k on body modifications which included getting eyeballs tattoos:

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"It definitely wasn’t a thought-out process like they are today," she told scenestr.com.au. "It was one of those spontaneous decisions you make when you’re young and silly – you don’t really think about the consequences when you do them. Now I’m what you’d consider a collector; I pursue an artist for their specific style and get them to do a piece for me."

The tattoo enthusiast is now hoping to shatter all the taboos and stereotypes placed on those who - like her - have a penchant for tattoos. And she has spoken out against the sort of profiling that heavily inked people receive on a daily basis.

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In an interview on an Australian morning show, Sunrise, she said: "I find it's a good talking point, especially a lot of the younger generation of patients that we see, I guess its a bit of a barrier break-down between what it is traditionally thought a doctor would look like."

This guy woke up after a bachelor party with a hilarious Donald Trump tattoo: 

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"If you're confident and competent at your job it shouldn't really matter what you look like. I'm just trying to advocate for being your own person and still being able to work in the medical profession."

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She added: "I don't have anything offensive on me anywhere, I think everything is done really well, and I think there's a real difference between getting a tattoo that's of poor quality and getting a tattoo if you're an art collector like myself."

Despite having been around for thousands of years, tattoos still attract a fair amount of criticism in certain social circles today. They're often seen as unprofessional or unattractive, or - to quote my grandmother, who has seen my own tattoos - "not very ladylike".

But, of course, giving something a bad reputation doesn't always put people off doing it. In fact, for some rebels, it only spurs them on further.

Dr. Sarah Gray, a 30-year-old medical professional from Adelaide, Australia, is one such individual who isn't afraid to buck the trend. With dozens of tattoos covering her from her collarbone to her toes, she stands out in her field... but not always in a good way.

In a recent interview with the Daily Mail, Dr. Gray explained that she's received plenty of criticism and judgement over the years, both inside and outside her workplace.

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The most negative treatment she's had to face has been in shops and restaurants, she says. In one recent incident, she was ignored by several shop assistants while waiting to buy a pair of designer heels on her birthday.

"They all served other customers first and wouldn't even make eye contact with me," Dr. Gray explained. "I waited politely for ages and eventually gave up and left. They did themselves out of a sale and I saved myself $1,000, so I guess that's one bonus!"

On another occasion, she was actually asked to leave a restaurant because of her appearance.

"I was out for lunch in a restaurant with my partner on the Gold Coast when we were seated at a table," she said. "After being seated for lunch, management then came up to us and asked us to leave as they had a 'no visible tattoo policy' for diners. That was a little disappointing to say the least."

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She's also been denied entrance to a casino, had people grab her without asking, and experienced a number of disparaging looks and comments from passersby in the street.

But the doctor is perfectly happy with how she looks, and does not believe that her tattoos should influence her career or how people perceive her.

"We should all be able to love the skin we're in, regardless of how we choose to decorate it," she said.

And, by showcasing her ink on Instagram and other public platforms such as tattoo conventions, she hopes that she will be able to positively change some people's opinions on body art and modifications.

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Thankfully, discrimination laws in Australia prevent Dr. Gray from facing any professional discipline because of how she looks.

"Having colourful skin in no way affects your skill level and with all the anti-discrimination laws now it wouldn't be appropriate to compartmentalise or treat me differently based on my appearance," she explained. "I've worked really hard to develop good professional relationships as I'm fairly memorable, so I've made sure I'm memorable for the right reasons through hard work, determination and an always positive attitude."

But for everyone remains judgemental of body art, Dr. Gray has some sage words:

"For those that don't like tattoos, that's entirely their prerogative, I just urge them to at least consider the artistic skill that goes into creating body art, before they judge someone harshly at face value for choosing to wear them."

And of course, it just goes to show: you should never judge a book by its cover - no matter how highly-decorated it may be.

A woman dubbed "the world's most tattooed doctor" has opened up about the stigma she faces due to her appearance and how she wants to combat stereotypes.

Dr. Sarah Gray - a former Miss Ink Australia winner and now a medical professional - received her first tattoo when she was 16 years old, and now, aged 33, she's hoping to change perceptions of tattooed professionals.

The model and orthopedic service registrar from Adelaide is challenging the idea that being inked has any bearing on an individual's ability to perform in the workplace.

The 33-year-old owns a tattoo studio called The Grim Raptor alongside her work in the medical industry.

In an interview with the Daily Star, Dr. Gray revealed her thoughts on those who judge others based on their tattoos. "Tattoos don't make you a bad person, and anyone that thinks that is just a representation of their unconscious bias, not of who I am as a person," she said.

Dr. Gray went on: "There shouldn't be any stigma around tattoos. It's literally just color in your skin. It doesn't definite you or your skill or capabilities to perform any task. We should actively encourage diversity and creative self-expression. We weren't born to be sheep."

However, Dr. Gray has faced a lot of negativity when it comes to her ink.

The most negative treatment she's had to face has been in shops and restaurants, she says. In one recent incident, she was ignored by several shop assistants while waiting to buy a pair of designer heels on her birthday.

"They all served other customers first and wouldn't even make eye contact with me," Dr. Gray explained to the Daily Mail. "I waited politely for ages and eventually gave up and left. They did themselves out of a sale and I saved myself $1,000, so I guess that's one bonus!"

On another occasion, she was actually asked to leave a restaurant because of her appearance.

"I was out for lunch in a restaurant with my partner on the Gold Coast when we were seated at a table," she said. "After being seated for lunch, management then came up to us and asked us to leave as they had a 'no visible tattoo policy' for diners. That was a little disappointing to say the least."

Nevertheless, Dr. Gray has also revealed that her tattoos can prove to be a tool for keeping younger patients at ease, as it can be common ground.

Speaking to Sunrise, she said: "I find it’s a good talking point, especially a lot of the younger generation of patients that we see, I guess its a bit of a barrier break-down between what it is traditionally thought a doctor would look like."

"I've worked really hard to develop good professional relationships as I'm fairly memorable, so I've made sure I'm memorable for the right reasons through hard work, determination, and an always positive attitude," Dr. Gray went on.

"For those that don't like tattoos, that's entirely their prerogative, I just urge them to at least consider the artistic skill that goes into creating body art."

The medical professional is almost entirely covered in tattoos, minus her face, with the designs being bold and colorful and most certainly a work of art.

Tattoos are definitely becoming more accepted in professional environments, and we are all for people being allowed to express themselves!

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A mother who is covered in tattoos is having a hard time finding a job, as she claims businesses aren't willing to hire her due to how she looks.

Tattoos have long been a subject of disagreement, particularly between generations, but as time progresses people are becoming more open to body art.

Increasingly, tattoo art is now understood to be an expression of one's self in the form of permanent ink.

Though one mother in the UK has found it pretty hard to convince employers to give her a chance, as she has over 800 tattoos covering her from head to toe.

As reported by the Daily Star, 46-year-old Melissa Sloan from Wales has at least three new designs applied to herself every week.

The majority of the tattoos are applied "prison style" by her partner Luke in the comfort of their own home.

Discussing her employment options, Sloan said: "I can’t get a job. They won’t have me. I applied for a job cleaning toilets where I live and they won’t have me because of my tattoos.

"The first job I had was cleaning ages ago, cleaning toilets. People have said I have never had a job in my life, I have had one once and it didn’t last long. But, if someone offered me a job tomorrow I would go and work - I would take that offer."

Sloan remains unemployed and is currently living off of government allowances to get by - but she has been making a clear effort to gain employment.

This isn't the only environment where the mother is judged for her looks, as she sadly revealed that she is unable to attend her children's school plays.

Exclusively speaking to the Daily Star, Sloan revealed that Christmas is a particularly hard time as her children's school makes her stand outside and watch the annual nativity performance through the window.

"No Christmas parties and when I go to my child's school I don't get invited," Sloan revealed. "They said once for me to go to the back garden and look through the class window."

Due to the treatment she receives, the tattoo "addict" stopped going to the school plays completely because she didn't appreciate how the teachers and other parents reacted to her.

Not only this, but Sloan revealed that she had been barred from various pubs due to her tattoos so can't partake in the Christmas tradition in the UK of spending it in the boozer with family and friends.

To add to her woes, tattoo shops will no longer let her in and that's why she's had to resort to her partner Luke giving her the weekly dose of ink.

Sloan said: "Tattoo shops shut the door on me - tattooists won't let me in. When I had this done [my face], there's one about five miles up the road and they won't do it."

She finished off by joking: "They won't do it because I'm beyond help because I've gone too far."

Despite all of this, Sloan is proud of her body art and has no intention of slowing down.

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A woman's heartbreaking story has led to her being given the opportunity to get her face tattoo removed.

Taylor White, a Florida resident, was just 21 years old when her face was allegedly forcibly tattooed with obscenities, forcing her to cover them up with a blackout face tattoo.

As reported by the New York Post, White's tattoo journey began when she was a young woman, with thin lines inked on either side of her face connecting her eyes to her temples.

She described it as "war paint" she applied to herself during a period of "mania" while working at a tattoo shop, attempting to prove her artistic prowess.

During this tumultuous period, White married a U.S. military member who later divorced her for a woman he met in Iraq, leaving White homeless and dependent on the goodwill of a tattoo parlor for shelter.

Her next boyfriend, whom she initially thought was a "great guy," was allegedly "abusive," both physically and sexually.

White says her then-boyfriend took her and a group of friends to a local bar on her 21st birthday and got her drunk.

She has chosen to keep the details of what allegedly took place that night private, but she says she had been assaulted.

Her face was in excruciating pain, and when she looked in the mirror, she discovered "really horrible things" permanently etched onto her face.

Upon returning to the tattoo shop where she worked, her boss, taken aback by the grotesque tattoos, offered to "black it out" to help her lead a normal life. White accepted his offer in 2008, but her life continued to be anything but normal as she faced constant job rejections due to her appearance.

"I’ve tried applying for jobs in the mental health care field just as an advocate," White, who has bipolar 2 disorder, revealed to the Post. "I understand that my appearance is quite different, and could maybe jar someone that has their own condition."

White began sharing her life journey on TikTok, amassing 22,000 followers while aiming to destigmatize mental illness.

"I wish when I was younger, someone had told me it’s OK to not be OK, and if you need help, ask for it," White shared. She recently completed her bachelor’s degree and is working toward a doctorate in psychology.

Karridy Askenasy, known as TheDadBot on TikTok, came across one of White's TikTok livestreams and, moved by her story, reached out to offer financial support for her laser tattoo removal.

"The trouble she was facing obviously had a personal effect on her," Askenasy, who has more than 138,000 TikTok followers, explained. "It was preventing her from doing the most good possible."

From Texas, Askenasy tirelessly searched for a clinic willing to take on the challenge of removing White's complex face tattoos, unsure if anyone could succeed or if he could afford the expensive procedure. Finally, Removery, a laser tattoo-removal company, stepped in and agreed to undertake the task free of charge.

Laser tattoo removal is typically an expensive and time-consuming process that can take months or even years to complete. Given the dark ink on White's face, Carmen VanderHeiden Brodie, the vice president of clinical operations at Removery, estimates it could take "upwards of two years" for her ink to fully disappear.

"It’s a gradual process, but one that yields permanent, life-changing results," Brodie explained in a statement to The Post.

For White, the removal process represents a chance to leave behind the painful reminders of her past. During her first removal session last month, she couldn't help but smile, despite the discomfort of the laser.

"I’m not having it removed purely for cosmetic reasons," White emphasized. "This is really removing a part of me that I no longer represent or live in."

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