Gang
Tattoos
Nothing
symbolizes gang members' commitment to their gangs more forcefully than the
gang tattoo. These symbols proclaim the individual's allegiance to the group in
a way that is both permanent and deeply personal-being written on the body
itself. But in recent years, thanks to a combination of social and
technological changes, the significance and the permanence of gang tattoos are
both being challenged. As a result, it appears that the power of these
signifiers has begun to erode.
Tattoos are
thought to have existed since the beginning of mankind. The oldest tattoo ever
found was on a man frozen in a glacier near Austria who was believed to have
died in approximately 4000 B.C. Although it's not known whether the frozen
Austrian was a criminal, for most of recorded history tattoos have been
associated with unlawful behavior and the underworld.
The early
Romans tattooed slaves and criminals as a means of identification. During the
years 300-600 C.E. in Japan, criminals were sometimes tattooed as punishment for
their crimes. Criminals in the Mediterranean region in the third century C.E.
were often tattooed or branded with symbols indicating the crimes they
committed; sometimes the victim's name was even emblazoned on the criminal's
forehead.
But while
society has often imposed tattoos in order to identify the tattooed as
criminals, many people have also embraced these stigmatizing marks. Being an
outlaw can be a source of pride as well as shame. Gang members in particular
take pride in branding themselves as outside of the boundaries of conventional
society. Until recently, tattooing was restricted to stigmatized members of
society, including gang members, carnival workers and prisoners-categories that
often overlapped. It is significant, however, that tattoos were not imposed on
these groups, but chosen by them as a means of self-identification and, often,
a symbol of belonging.
