A tattoo of a teardrop, under the eye of a person that has been raped in prison.
The teardrop tattoo is
humiliating as the prisoner had the tattoo forced onto them and it may also indicate they're someone else's property, to be sold and traded throughout the penitentiary.
An
urban myth exists in some circles that the teardrop means the wearer is a murderer; this myth was likely started by those that have been raped and 'teardropped' in prison. Some will even foolishly get these thinking it will earn them respect because they've seen tough looking lifers and ex-cons wearing them, not realising these guys were once weak/jumped and raped when they first entered prison long ago.
When you
think about it... Can you imagine a murderer who wants others to fear them, asking a tattooist, 'Please place a tiny tattoo on my face that makes me look like I'm crying."
Hahahaha it just doesn't happen. Except for a few
circumstances, crying is frowned upon in the penitentiary; it's a sign of weakness. A murderer and a rape victim are polar opposites of the prisoner spectrum and
realistically, would you cry after murdering someone or after being raped?
More recently, trendy rappers, hipsters, etc. who want people to feel sorry for them, get the tattoo thinking they'll fool others into believing they're grieving and perhaps some of them are, not realising that in prison terms it means they are in fact grieving their anal virginity and 'street' innocence.
