Semicolon Tattoo Exact Meaning, Symbolism And Design Inspiration From Celebs
Shrimanti Das
Updated At 17 Jun 24
Semicolon tattoos have gained popularity over time and have become a symbol of resilience and hope for people who have struggled with anxiety, depression and severe mental health issues. The semicolon tattoo may have originated as a symbol of mental health awareness for few, while for others it meant that after immense difficulties, they chose to continue their lives without giving up on life.
What Does A Semicolon Tattoo mean?
Semicolon tattoos are symbols of hope. The simple design holds a powerful message of overcoming hardships. Many people with mental health issues like anxiety, and depression may get a semicolon tattoo on their wrists or fingers as a reminder to themselves that they learned to fight back despite all the challenges that they have faced all alone.
Grammatically, a semicolon means to continue and a full stop means the end. Similarly, the semicolon tattoo represents the choice to continue and a new beginning of life.
How did Semicolon Tattoo become popular?
After the Project Semicolon, the tattoo became a universal symbol in 2013.
The Semicolon Project was founded by Amy Bleuel to raise awareness of mental well-being. Semicolon was chosen as the symbol of the project to represent the willpower of people to continue living even after mental hardships. According to Amy Bleuel,
"A semicolon is used when the author could have ended the sentence but chose not to. The author is you, and the sentence represents your life. Thus, the significance of these semicolon tattoos is a visible depiction of personal courage amid internal conflict."
To combat the stigma associated with suicide and mental health, the project participants have semicolons permanently tattooed on their bodies.
Unfortunately, Amy committed suicide in 2017. However, the work on mental health issues has a strong influence all over the world. After her death, people get semicolon tattoos to commemorate her legacy and raise awareness of hope and resilience to fight and overcome mental hardships.
Semicolon Tattoo Placement Examples
Women generally choose to place semicolon tattoos on their wrists, fingers, chest, ankles or at the back of their ears.
Men usually opt for tattoo placements like the wrists, arms or fingers. Men love to pair it with other tattoos to make it look bold and attractive.
Celebs with Semicolon Tattoo
Famous celebs Selena Gomez, Tommy Dorfman and Alisha Boe from "13 Reasons Why" got semicolons tattooed on their hands to stand in solidarity with people who deal with depression, addiction issues and suicidal thoughts.
In an interview, Alisha Boe said
"So the creators of "13 Reasons Why" had the semicolon tattoos first, and Christian [Navarro], who plays Tony on the program, gets the tattoo on his arm. The message is to stand in solidarity with people who are suicidal, suffer from depression or addiction, or have personally experienced these conditions. So it was a project we were aware of, and Tommy Dorfman, who plays Ryan and I had been hoping to land it. Oddly, we ran across Selena at a store and told her about it. She also wanted to get it, so we ended up all going."
Pairing Options For Semicolon Tattoo
Butterfly Semicolon Tattoo
The butterfly design of the semicolon tattoo uses a semicolon as the body of a butterfly and simple are wings drawn on it. To make it colourful you can add more details and colours to it. Butterflies symbolize transition, hope, and rebirth, making them the perfect emphasis for mental health.
Heart Semicolon Tattoo
Hearts symbolize love, and a heart semicolon tattoo can be a great reminder to love yourself no matter what. It is a great reminder of positive affirmations and hope. A heart semicolon tattoo is typically made by replacing the circle of the semicolon with a heart shape.
Semicolon Tattoo With Arrows
Arrow and semicolon symbols are also merged together to create unique and meaningful tattoos. Arrows usually stand for struggle and a change which is overdue. When merged with semicolon symbol, the tattoo indicates that one must not give up and continue with the ongoing struggles. The future will surely be better and all one needs is to continue to work hard.
Semicolon Tattoo With Sun
The semicolon tattoo with sun on the top has a special meaning. While the semicolon tattoo stands for continued resilience, hope and positivity, the sun tattoo indicates energy and truth. This unique tattoo means that theres hope and the future will be better and all one needs is to continue the journey with the same rigor.
Popularity Over Time
Other Tattoos With Meaning
