RapperLil Wayne with teardrop tattoos below his eyes
Theteardrop tattoo ortear tattoo is a symbolictattoo of atear that is placed underneath theeye. The teardrop is one of the most widely recognisedprison tattoos[1] and has various meanings.
It can signify that the wearer has spent time in prison,[2][3] or more specifically that the wearer wasraped while incarcerated and tattooed by the rapist as a "property" mark and for humiliation, since facial tattoos cannot be concealed.[4][5][6][7]
The tattoo is sometimes worn by the female companions of prisoners in solidarity with their loved ones.[8]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.[9]
It can acknowledge the loss of a friend or family member: Basketball playerAmar'e Stoudemire has had a teardrop tattoo since 2012 honouring his older brother Hazell Jr., who died in a car accident.[10]
In West Coast United Statesgang culture, the tattoo may signify that the wearer has killed someone[11][12] and in some of those circles, the tattoo's meaning can change: an empty outline meaning the wearerattempted murder.
Sometimes the exact meaning of the tattoo is known only by the wearer[12][13]as in the case of Portuguese footballerRicardo Quaresma, who has never explained his teardrop tattoos.[14]
^"What does teardrop tattoo mean?". 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 Meaning: Tattoos With Meaning". tattooswithmeaning.com.Archived from the original on 31 May 2020. Retrieved3 March 2018.this was a way of "marking" an inmate as the property of another person or humiliating the inmate while in jail, as a tattoo on the face cannot be covered up or hidden
^Santos, Xuan (Fall 2009). "The Chicana Canvas: Doing Class, Gender, Race, and Sexuality through Tattooing in East Los Angeles".Feminist Formations.21 (3):91–120.
^Smith, Brendan (25 April 2008)."Tattoo Regret".Washington City Paper.Archived from the original on 26 April 2016. Retrieved20 September 2010.the tattoo's 'West Coast' meaning
^WOLF, SONJA; Logan, Samuel (August 2010). "This is for the Mara Salvatrucha: Inside the MS-13, America's Most Violent Gang".Journal of Latin American Studies.42 (3):627–629.doi:10.1017/s0022216x10000994.S2CID145081109.
