Ai (R) and Hamuka dressed in “Lolita fashion”, influenced by Victorian style, pose for a photographs at Harajuku shopping district in Tokyo, Japan March 15, 2018. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)
American singer-songwriter, producer and former dancer Anastacia and teacher dancer Maykel Fonts perform during the “Dancing with the Stars” TV show in Rome, Italy on March 24, 2018. (Photo by PA Press Association)
A participant poses for a photograph at the annual Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S. on April 1, 2018. (Photo by Gaia Squarci/Reuters)
A woman walks past a mural depicting RM, a member of K-pop group BTS, in Goyang, northwest of Seoul, on June 15, 2022. (Photo by Anthony Wallace/AFP Photo)
Devotees wearing full body costumes to resemble Hindu monkey god – lord Hanuman take part in a procession in Amritsar on February 13, 2023. (Photo by Narinder Nanu/AFP Photo)
A Chinkara gazelle fawn rests in the plumage of a peacock at an animal rescue center on a hot summer day in Bikaner, Rajasthan, India, Thursday, May 23, 2024. (Photo by Dinesh Gupta/AP Photo)
A woman poses for a souvenir photo with a cat statue on display at the Shenzhen Bay commercial district, in Shenzhen, China's Guangdong province, Monday, September 15, 2025. (Photo by Andy Wong/AP Photo)
Tattoos are commonly used among criminals to show gang membership and record the wearer's personal history—such as his or her skills, specialties, accomplishments and convictions. They are also used as a means of personal expression. Certain designs have developed recognized coded meanings. The code systems can be quite complex and because of the nature of what they encode, the tattoo designs are not widely recognized.