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Teardrop tattoo

Type of tattoo

Type of tattoo

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 most widely recognised prison tattoos and has various meanings.

It can signify that the wearer has spent time in prison, or more specifically that the wearer was raped while incarcerated and tattooed by the rapist as a "property" mark and for humiliation, since facial tattoos cannot be concealed.

The tattoo is sometimes worn by the female companions of prisoners in solidarity with their loved ones. Amy Winehouse had a teardrop drawn on her face in eyeliner after her husband Blake entered the Pentonville prison hospital following a suspected drug overdose.

It can acknowledge the loss of a friend or family member: Basketball player Amar'e Stoudemire has had a teardrop tattoo since 2012 honouring his older brother Hazell Jr., who died in a car accident.

In West Coast United States gang culture, the tattoo may signify that the wearer has killed someone and in some of those circles, the tattoo's meaning can change: an empty outline meaning the wearer attempted murder.

Sometimes the exact meaning of the tattoo is known only by the wearer as in the case of Portuguese footballer Ricardo Quaresma, who has never explained his teardrop tattoos.

References

References

  1. "15 prison tattoos and their meanings: Corrections One".
  2. Macdonald, John Marshall. (1987). "The confession: interrogation and criminal profiles for police officers". Apache Press.
  3. "Prison Tattoos Tell a Story | Prison Legal News".
  4. (6 May 2017). "Why getting a tattoo in prison is a really bad idea | Metro News".
  5. "Four Days in the Oaxaca State Prison: Mexico Living". mexconnect.com.
  6. "What does teardrop tattoo mean?". dictionary.com.
  7. "Teardrop Tattoo Meaning: Tattoos With Meaning". tattooswithmeaning.com.
  8. Santos, Xuan. (Fall 2009). "The Chicana Canvas: Doing Class, Gender, Race, and Sexuality through Tattooing in East Los Angeles". Feminist Formations.
  9. Lee, Chris. (13 July 2017). "Amy Winehouse's Marriage to Blake Fielder-Civil: Dark Love Affair". The Daily Beast.
  10. Lorenzo, Tom. (14 February 2012). "Amar'e Stoudemire Honors His Late Brother By Getting A "Teardrop" Tattoo". Sports Grid.
  11. Smith, Brendan. (25 April 2008). "Tattoo Regret". Washington City Paper.
  12. (August 2008). "Erasing the Past: Tattoo-Removal Programs for Former Gang Members". FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin.
  13. (August 2010). "This is for the Mara Salvatrucha: Inside the MS-13, America's Most Violent Gang". Journal of Latin American Studies.
  14. Gidden, Alex. (28 November 2016). "Besiktas Star Ricardo Quaresma Refutes Rumours About His Teardrop Tattoos".
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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