semicolon tattoo

People get semicolon tattoos to represent their own struggles with—and victories over, ongoing as they can be—suicide, or to express solidarity for those experiencing mental health issues. Intended to be hopeful and inspirational, the tattoo is often subtle, in places such as behind the ear or on the wrist, though many have larger, more elaborate designs incorporating the semicolon punctuation mark. The semicolon tattoo also takes other symbolic, non-tattoo forms, printed, for example, on t-shirts or fashioned as pendants.

The mental health meaning of the semicolon tattoo received another boost of attention during the debut of the 2017 Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, based on a 2007 young adult novel by Jay Asher centering on the suicide of a high school student. Three of the people involved with the project got the semicolon tattoo, including actor Selena Gomez, who was an executive producer of the adaptation.

Separate from their mental health symbolism, semicolon tattoos are also used by people with Crohn’s disease to represent their community. The logic is that someone with Crohn’s disease or a similar condition might quite literally have a semi-colon, as part of the intestinal colon sometimes has to be removed to treat it.

There are also semicolon tattoos that have nothing to do with either Crohn’s disease or mental health issues, so it’s best not to assume anything about someone’s life based on their tattoo choice. They might just be passionate about semicolons.