Tattoos: the hidden meanings

1 Teardrop True to stereotype, the teardrop appeared in the dock this week. During the trial of Kiaran Stapleton , accused of murdering Indian student Anuj Bidve in Manchester, the prosecution alleged that tattoo parlour staff remembered Stapleton's visit two days after the murder because they reminded the 21-year-old that a teardrop below the eye could mean the wearer had killed someone. Teardrops can be associated with death and prison . In gangland, an unfilled teardrop may signify the death of a friend, with the person shading it in when they have avenged their loss. Teardrops may also mean mourning - Amy Winehouse's teardrop was said to symbolise her former husband Blake Fielder-Civil's stint in prison, The Guardian informed.
2 Anchor By the late 1800s, 90% of those serving in the British navy were tattooed and sailing iconography is still influential - particularly with the trend for retro "romantic" tattoos. "Tattoos display an individual's membership to a particular group in society," writes sociologist Tony Lawrence . Practically, tattoos could help identify drowned sailors. Their meanings, however, depend on the era and even the specific ship. An anchor could mean crossing the equator, the soul of a dead sailor or symbolise hope - we may no longer take perilous journeys on high seas but still seek to "anchor" our self. According to Dr Matt Lodder , art historian at Reading University, rather than having a particular meaning, the anchor has also become an icon of tattooing - like the broken heart and the swallow.
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