What Is The Meaning Of Tear Drop Tattoos

Type of tattoo

Rapper Lil Wayne with teardrop tattoos below his eyes

The teardrop tattoo or tear tattoo is a symbolic tattoo of a tear that is placed underneath the eye. The teardrop is one of the about widely recognised prison tattoos^[one] and has diverse meanings.

It tin can signify that the wearer has spent time in prison house,^[two] ^[iii] or more specifically that the wearer was raped while incarcerated and tattooed past the rapist equally a "property" marker and for humiliation, since facial tattoos cannot be concealed.^[4] ^[5] ^[6] ^[seven]

The tattoo is sometimes worn past the female companions of prisoners in solidarity with their loved ones.^[viii] Amy Winehouse had a teardrop fatigued on her face in eyeliner after her husband Blake entered the Pentonville prison house infirmary following a suspected drug overdose.^[9]

Information technology tin admit the loss of a friend or family member: North American rappers The Game and Lil Wayne have teardrop tattoos signifying the decease of friends^[10] and basketball actor Amar'eastward Stoudemire has had a teardrop tattoo since 2012 honoring his older brother Hazell Jr., who died in a car blow.^[11]

In W Coast gang civilisation (USA), the tattoo may signify that the wearer has killed someone^[12] ^[13] and in some of those circles, the tattoo's pregnant tin change: an empty outline meaning either the wearer attempted murder or that a fellow gang member or friend died and when filled in, the wearer sought revenge.^[14] ^[15]

Sometimes the verbal pregnant of the tattoo is known only by the wearer:^[13] ^[16] Portuguese footballer Ricardo Quaresma has never explained his teardrop tattoos.^[17]

References [edit]

^ "15 prison tattoos and their meanings: Corrections Ane".
^ Macdonald, John Marshall (1987). The confession: interrogation and criminal profiles for police officers. Apache Press. p. 83. ISBN9780961823009. A teardrop tattoo below the corner of the eye represents five years in prison
^ "Prison Tattoos Tell a Story | Prison Legal News".
^ "Why getting a tattoo in prison house is a really bad idea | Metro News". 6 May 2017.
^ "Iv Days in the Oaxaca State Prison: Mexico Living". mexconnect.com. Retrieved 3 November 2016. the victim of rape is tattooed with a tear drop below the centre by the offending party and his accomplices
^ "What does teardrop tattoo hateful?". lexicon.com. a dominant inmate forces the tattoo on a submissive i afterwards existence extorted, abused or raped — a class of public humiliation
^ "Teardrop Tattoo Meaning: Tattoos With Significant". tattooswithmeaning.com. this was a way of "marker" an inmate as the property of another person or humiliating the inmate while in jail, equally a tattoo on the face cannot be covered up or hidden
^ Santos, Xuan (Autumn 2009). "The Chicana Canvas: Doing Class, Gender, Race, and Sexuality through Tattooing in E Los Angeles". Feminist Formations. 21 (3): 91–120.
^ Lee, Chris (July 13, 2017). "Amy Winehouse'southward Wedlock to Blake Fielder-Civil: Night Dearest Affair". The Daily Beast. Winehouse appeared in public with a tiny teardrop drawn in eyeliner beneath her left eye.
^ Binelli, Mark (April 16, 2009). "Life on Planet Wayne". Rolling Stone. pp. 43–47, 73–74.
^ Lorenzo, Tom (2012-02-xiv). "Amar'e Stoudemire Honors His Late Brother Past Getting A "Teardrop" Tattoo". Sports Grid . Retrieved 2012-02-28 .
^ Smith, Brendan (April 25, 2008). "Tattoo Regret". Washington City Newspaper . Retrieved 2010-09-20 . the tattoo'due south 'West Coast' meaning
^ ^a ^b Poljac, Bakir; Burke, Tod (August 2008). "Erasing the Past: Tattoo-Removal Programs for Former Gang Members". FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. Vol. 77, no. 8. pp. 13–18.
^ "What 15 common prison house tattoos mean - Business organisation Insider".
^ "Teardrop Tattoo Meaning | herinterest.com/".
^ WOLF, SONJA; Logan, Samuel (August 2010). "This is for the Mara Salvatrucha: Inside the MS-13, America's Most Trigger-happy Gang". Journal of Latin American Studies. 42 (3): 627–629. doi:10.1017/s0022216x10000994. S2CID 145081109.
^ Gidden, Alex (28 November 2016). "Besiktas Star Ricardo Quaresma Refutes Rumours About His Teardrop Tattoos".