Teardrop tattoo

{{short description|Type of tattoo}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}

Image:Lil Wayne.jpg 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 most widely recognised prison tattoos{{cite web |url=https://www.correctionsone.com/prison-gangs/articles/7527475-15-prison-tattoos-and-their-meanings |title=15 prison tattoos and their meanings: Corrections One}} and has various meanings.

It can signify that the wearer has spent time in prison,{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NVIvAQAAIAAJ |title=The confession: interrogation and criminal profiles for police officers |publisher=Apache Press |author=Macdonald, John Marshall |year=1987 |pages=83 |isbn=978-0-9618230-0-9 |quote=A teardrop tattoo below the corner of the eye represents five years in prison}}{{cite web |url=https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2017/dec/5/prison-tattoos-tell-story/ |title=Prison Tattoos Tell a Story | Prison Legal News}} 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.{{cite web |url=https://metro.co.uk/2017/05/06/getting-a-tattoo-in-prison-is-a-really-bad-idea-here-are-a-few-things-you-might-not-know-6611311/ |title=Why getting a tattoo in prison is a really bad idea | Metro News |date=6 May 2017 |access-date=30 January 2019 |archive-date=1 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401202817/https://metro.co.uk/2017/05/06/getting-a-tattoo-in-prison-is-a-really-bad-idea-here-are-a-few-things-you-might-not-know-6611311/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/3624-four-days-in-the-oaxaca-state-prison |title=Four Days in the Oaxaca State Prison: Mexico Living |publisher=mexconnect.com |access-date=3 November 2016 |quote=the victim of rape is tattooed with a tear drop below the eye by the offending party and his accomplices |archive-date=2 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802144015/https://www.mexconnect.com/articles/3624-four-days-in-the-oaxaca-state-prison |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.dictionary.com/e/pop-culture/teardrop-tattoo |title=What does teardrop tattoo mean? |publisher=dictionary.com |quote=a dominant inmate forces the tattoo on a submissive one after being extorted, abused or raped — a form of public humiliation}}{{cite web |url=http://www.tattooswithmeaning.com/teardrop-tattoo-meaning |title=Teardrop Tattoo Meaning: Tattoos With Meaning |publisher=tattooswithmeaning.com |quote=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 |access-date=3 March 2018 |archive-date=31 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200531210052/https://www.tattooswithmeaning.com/teardrop-tattoo-meaning/ |url-status=live }}

The tattoo is sometimes worn by the female companions of prisoners in solidarity with their loved ones.{{cite journal |title=The Chicana Canvas: Doing Class, Gender, Race, and Sexuality through Tattooing in East Los Angeles |last=Santos |first=Xuan |journal=Feminist Formations |volume=21 |number=3 |date=Fall 2009 |pages=91–120}} 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.{{cite news |title=Amy Winehouse's Marriage to Blake Fielder-Civil: Dark Love Affair |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/amy-winehouses-marriage-to-blake-fielder-civil-dark-love-affair/ |last=Lee |first=Chris |newspaper=The Daily Beast |date=13 July 2017 |quote=Winehouse appeared in public with a tiny teardrop drawn in eyeliner beneath her left eye.}}

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.{{cite news |last=Lorenzo |first=Tom |title=Amar'e Stoudemire Honors His Late Brother By Getting A "Teardrop" Tattoo |url=http://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/amare-stoudemire-teardrop-tattoo/ |access-date=28 February 2012 |newspaper=Sports Grid |date=14 February 2012 |archive-date=18 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218011404/http://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/amare-stoudemire-teardrop-tattoo/ |url-status=live }}

In West Coast United States gang culture, the tattoo may signify that the wearer has killed someone{{cite web |title=Tattoo Regret |work=Washington City Paper |url=http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/35479/tattoo-regret |access-date=20 September 2010 |first=Brendan |last=Smith |date=25 April 2008 |quote=the tattoo's 'West Coast' meaning |archive-date=26 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160426165343/http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/35479/tattoo-regret |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=Erasing the Past: Tattoo-Removal Programs for Former Gang Members |last1=Poljac |first1=Bakir |last2=Burke |first2=Tod |work=FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin |volume=77 |number=8 |date=August 2008 |pages=13–18 |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Erasing+the+past%3a+tattoo-removal+programs+for+former+gang+members.-a0183750656}} 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{{cite journal |title=This is for the Mara Salvatrucha: Inside the MS-13, America's Most Violent Gang |last1=WOLF |first1=SONJA |last2=Logan |first2=Samuel |journal=Journal of Latin American Studies |volume=42 |number=3 |date=August 2010 |pages=627–629 |doi=10.1017/s0022216x10000994 |s2cid=145081109}}

as in the case of Portuguese footballer Ricardo Quaresma, who has never explained his teardrop tattoos.{{cite news |title=Besiktas Star Ricardo Quaresma Refutes Rumours About His Teardrop Tattoos |last=Gidden |first=Alex |date=28 November 2016 |url=https://www.90min.com/posts/4183901-besiktas-star-ricardo-quaresma-refutes-rumours-about-his-teardrop-tattoos |archive-date=17 August 2021 |access-date=17 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817061313/https://www.90min.com/posts/4183901-besiktas-star-ricardo-quaresma-refutes-rumours-about-his-teardrop-tattoos |url-status=live }}