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INKEDblog takes you beneath the skin of today's tattoo culture. Our mission is to celebrate tattooing as a modern art form which incorporates art, fashion, style, and pop culture. While paying homage and respect to the past, we look to present a contemporary take on the present and future of skin art.
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Wednesday Sep 14, 2005
Break the Tattoo Code - The Tear drop Tattoo
Tattooing has served many functions during its mottled history, from social status in Japan, to identification in Nazi Germany, from body art in Tahiti to underground code in the underworld around the globe.
The tradition of coded tattoos is still prevalent, though the meaning of the various tattoos changes with the passage of time and region. Generally, coded tattoos are associated with prison and gangs. Let’s explore the meaning of some of these coded symbols.
Tear drop tattoos
The teardrop tattoo is typically a prison tattoo. Traditionally placed next to the eye, either left or right, this striking mark makes its wearer appear to be permanently crying.
While many prison tattoos are ethnicity specific, the teardrop is seen equally across the board.
Originally, in North America, the teardrop meant that the wearer had committed at least one murder. In some places, it meant that the wearer had committed a murder in jail. This tattoo then had the power to warn away other convicts, and establish an image for the wearer, of self-defense that is imperative in the prison system.
This symbol has evolved to represent family or friends of the prisoner who have died while the wearer is incarcerated. This is a very different implication, as it represents true grief, rather than an morbidly ironic gesture. When the tear drop represents the death of a loved one, the tattoo implies that the wearer is unable to cry real tears while in the prison system, and must use ink, instead.
Sometimes described as meaning ‘a mother’s son is gone’, the teardrop represents death in both North American examples.
In Australia, the teardrop has an entirely different meaning. It is forcibly marked on convicts who are accused child molesters. This mark is then used as a justification for the beatings and abuse of the wearer. The teardrop in this case, represents the tears that the convict will cry, eternally.
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