What Is The Significance Of A Teardrop Tattoo Under The Eye

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 virtually widely recognised prison tattoos^[one] and has various meanings.

It can signify that the wearer has spent time in prison,^[2] ^[3] or more specifically that the wearer was raped while incarcerated and tattooed by the rapist every bit a "property" mark and for humiliation, since facial tattoos cannot exist concealed.^[4] ^[five] ^[6] ^[7]

The tattoo is sometimes worn past the female companions of prisoners in solidarity with their loved ones.^[8] Amy Winehouse had a teardrop fatigued on her confront in eyeliner later her husband Blake entered the Pentonville prison infirmary post-obit a suspected drug overdose.^[nine]

It can acknowledge the loss of a friend or family member: N American rappers The Game and Lil Wayne have teardrop tattoos signifying the death of friends^[10] and basketball actor Amar'e Stoudemire has had a teardrop tattoo since 2012 honoring his older brother Hazell Jr., who died in a car accident.^[11]

In Due west Coast gang culture (USA), the tattoo may signify that the wearer has killed someone^[12] ^[13] and in some of those circles, the tattoo'due south meaning tin can modify: 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 exact meaning of the tattoo is known only by the wearer:^[13] ^[16] Portuguese footballer Ricardo Quaresma has never explained his teardrop tattoos.^[17]

Meet also [edit]

Prison house tattooing
Criminal tattoo
Prison rape

References [edit]

^ "15 prison tattoos and their meanings: Corrections One".
^ Macdonald, John Marshall (1987). The confession: interrogation and criminal profiles for constabulary 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 is a actually bad idea | Metro News". vi May 2017.
^ "Four Days in the Oaxaca State Prison: Mexico Living". mexconnect.com. Retrieved iii November 2016. the victim of rape is tattooed with a tear drop beneath the middle by the offending party and his accomplices
^ "What does teardrop tattoo hateful?". dictionary.com. a dominant inmate forces the tattoo on a submissive one after being extorted, abused or raped — a form of public humiliation
^ "Teardrop Tattoo Pregnant: Tattoos With Meaning". tattooswithmeaning.com. this was a way of "marking" an inmate equally the property of another person or humiliating the inmate while in jail, as a tattoo on the face cannot exist covered up or hidden
^ Santos, Xuan (Fall 2009). "The Chicana Canvas: Doing Form, Gender, Race, and Sexuality through Tattooing in East Los Angeles". Feminist Formations. 21 (three): 91–120.
^ Lee, Chris (July 13, 2017). "Amy Winehouse'south Marriage to Blake Fielder-Civil: Night Love Thing". The Daily Beast. Winehouse appeared in public with a tiny teardrop drawn in eyeliner beneath her left centre.
^ Binelli, Mark (April 16, 2009). "Life on Planet Wayne". Rolling Stone. pp. 43–47, 73–74.
^ Lorenzo, Tom (2012-02-14). "Amar'due east Stoudemire Honors His Belatedly Brother Past Getting A "Teardrop" Tattoo". Sports Grid . Retrieved 2012-02-28 .
^ Smith, Brendan (April 25, 2008). "Tattoo Regret". Washington City Paper . Retrieved 2010-09-20 . the tattoo'south 'Westward Declension' meaning
^ ^a ^b Poljac, Bakir; Burke, Tod (August 2008). "Erasing the Past: Tattoo-Removal Programs for Quondam Gang Members". FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. Vol. 77, no. eight. pp. 13–18.
^ "What 15 mutual prison tattoos mean - Business 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 Almost His Teardrop Tattoos".