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Gang Tattoos.

Religious tattoos (3)

 

Gang tattoos.

Religious tattoos (2):

 

 

Gang tattoos.

Religious (1):

The Philippines being a Catholic country it is not surprising to see

a lot of religious imagery in the tattoos.

 

Gang Tattoos.

A fatalistic world view / quotes:

Tattoos are also used to express gang members' often fatalist

philosophy of life. One popular tattoo is a depiction of the smiling

and crying comedy and tragedy masks, meaning, "play now and pay

later," or "my happy life, my sad life."

Gang Tattoos.

Hand tattoos:

Gang tattoos.

Head tattoos:

Gang Tattoos.

Face tattoos (2)

Gang Tattoos.

Face tattoos (1):

For gang members, however, tattoos are a way of both

asserting membership in the gang and flaunting their lack

of membership in straight society. For this reason, street

gang members will often get tattoos on their hands and

faces so as to permanently bar them from being a part of

normal society. The larger and more prominent the tattoo,

the harder it is to hide, the more impressive it is to other

gang members. For this reason, two of the most widespread

gang tattoos are often found on the most visible parts of

the body: the hands and the face.

(Source: Gang Tattoos: Signs of Belonging and the Transience of Signs by

Lina Goldberg)

Gang Tattoos.

Teardrops:

A common tattoo among gang members is a small teardrop below

the eye. Although some take this symbol to mean the bearer has

killed someone, others use it to show that someone close to the

bearer has died, especially if this occurred while the tattooed

individual was incarcerated.

(Source: Gang Tattoos: Signs of Belonging and the Transience of Signs by

Lina Goldberg)

Gang Tattoos.

The importance of gang tattoos in prisons can be gauged by the

trouble prisoners are willing to go to in order to get these permanently

etched onto their skin, for getting a tattoo in prison can be a long

and arduous process. Because of the health risks associated with

unsanitary tattooing (such as the spread of disease via shared

needles and far-from-sanitary inks), most prisons have banned

the practice and are vigilant in preventing inmates from getting

new tattoos while incarcerated. Nevertheless, prison tattooists

and their customers manage to find a way to flout these regulations.

(Source: Gang Tattoos: Signs of Belonging and the Transience of Signs by

Lina Goldberg)