Tattoos are known to be a mark on your skin to represent something about yourself. This might be something that you hope to be, a cool design that you feel symbolizes something about you, or some kind of affiliation. In the case of prison tattoos, the later is usually the case.

There are a lot of reasons why someone might get a prison tattoo. Many times it is a cultural thing. Other times it’s a gang affiliation. Different countries have different prison gangs and prison tattoos that mean something specific.

We wouldn’t suggest getting one of these for yourself unless you’re affiliated with one of these groups. Having one might be bad news for you if you are seen with it. Whether it is an employer or someone in the group, the repercussions probably won’t be good.

However, there are a lot of people curious about prison tattoos and we wanted to talk about them. In this post we are going to go over some of these prison tattoos based on the country and the symbols. Every symbol in these different countries and prison systems will mean something else. We will talk about why people get these tattoos and what they represent. By the end of this post we hope you are a bit more informed on the matter.

Why Do People Get Prison Tattoos?

When men are put into the penal system, their connection from society is stripped away from them. Friends and family are gone. Essentially, every bit of privacy you had is gone now and you’re put into cages with other men.

Your identity is basically stripped away from you in the process. Prisoners’ self esteem goes out the window and the feeling of worthlessness can kick in. There are only so many things one can do in prison to have some sort of identity. To not just be a number.

In many cases, tattoos are a way to express themselves. It might be a way to let those emotions that you’re holding back, be on display for the world. It’s a way to have a sense of “self” in a system that takes everything from you. The only thing a prisoner has control over is their body. It can become their canvas where they can make themselves look anyway they want.