A few generations ago, most tattoos were viewed as potential gang tattoos – whether or not they were actually gang related.
That’s because tattooing was relatively uncommon among the mainstream public, so having a tattoo almost automatically meant that you had some sort of criminal or gang association, or had been in prison.
In other words, though most people didn’t have the skill to identify symbols, it was more or less taken for granted that tattoos were connected to some sort of criminal underworld. Today, tattoos are very common and they don’t have that association – the vast majority of tattoos we see on the street are not gang related.
On the other hand, this doesn’t mean that gangs, or gang tattoos, have disappeared altogether. There are still tattoo designs that are specific to the different ethnic gangs that operate in some major cities.
Gang tattoos have more in common with traditional tribal tattoos than they do with modern decorative body art; they are designed to mark an individual as a member of a group, as well as being an indication of status.
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