What does the Joker tattoo TikTok trend mean?

An unusual new trend has emerged on TikTok where people are getting tattoos of the Batman villain, Joker and are then trying to attach deep and meaningful reasons to the ink.

Searches for Joker tattoos are well into the millions on TikTok with videos of people's crown prince of crime artwork racking up hundreds of thousands of views.

The trend appears to have started on September 1st when TikTok user @short_mort shared a seven-second about a Joker-themed tattoo.

The clip starts with an image of Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker, a role he won an Academy Award for, with the text overlay reading: "The joker tattoo means a lack of love, an abandonment/neglect withdrawn into oneself." The video switches to a picture of a Heath Ledger-inspired Joker tattoo.

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The video has since been viewed more than 500,000 times on TikTok and many other Joker tattoo designs have continued to appear on the app's 'For You Pages.'

Others have since shared their own Joker tattoos and the meanings behind them. One user wrote: "The darker side of life, but he also represents perseverance."

However, by placing meanings behind the tattoos others on TikTok have seemingly become confused by whether all Joker tattoos actually need reasons behind them.

In response to the @short_mort video one person wrote: "Can I still get it if I just like the Joker?" The TikToker replied "of course."

The truth is that tattoos of the Joker don't represent one particular universal meaning or existential theme. The tattoos mean different things to different people or you can just simply like the DC Comics character.

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