5150 Tattoo: Meaning

What is the meaning of the 5150 tattoo?

Introduction

A couple of decades ago, those who adorned their bodies with tattoos were in the minority, as tattoos were pretty rare and had somewhat of a bad rep.

In present times, however, as modern society has changed, you are more likely to be in the minority if you don’t have a tattoo.

Tattoos come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and designs and have all kinds of different meanings behind them.

Today we’re going to be exploring the 5150 tattoo meaning.

One thing you’ll notice about tattoos nowadays is that celebrities and people in the public eye tend to have them.

While some guys like David Beckham have expensive and elaborate tattoos primarily for show, others like Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson have them to honor their heritage and tell a story.

Those familiar with music, particularly rap and hip hop, may have noticed that Yelawolf has very unique tattoos on his eyelids.

Yelawolf has 51 and 50, tattooed upon his eyelids.

But why do some people have these numbers tattooed upon them, and what is the 5150 tattoo meaning?

Why do people have 5150 tattooed upon themselves?

Tattoos have all kinds of weird and wonderful meanings behind them.

Whether you choose to have an elaborate tattoo sleeve design done or simply the initials of a loved one, if you like it, it brings happiness to you and has a great meaning behind it, that’s all that matters.

People often have numbers and dates tattooed upon themselves for all kinds of different reasons.

Some people, however, have the number 5150 tattooed upon themselves, but why?

Well, if you live in California, you may have noticed more people than usual with these numbers on their bodies.

This is due to the fact that the numbers represent correctional treatment facilities run by the state.

5150 and psychiatric health

According to a number of tattoo artists and people in the know, the number 5150 on tattoos is used to represent the fact that the person with the tattoo may have been treated for psychiatric issues in the past or may have some past trauma.

5150 represents the psychiatric correctional facilities that are operated by the state of California’s health department.

Here, by law, psychiatric assessment has to be carried out on those who are detained.

The 5150 tattoo meaning refers to ‘Section 5150.’

While not everybody that has these tattoos are dangerous, the general consensus is that most people with these numbers tattooed on their bodies have previously been detained in one of these facilities and/or have suffered from mental health issues in the past.

Make no mistake about it, to be housed in one of these facilities meant that the system deemed you a danger to yourself and possibly to others and that you had to be held until you received the necessary treatment and support to get your life back on track.

Criminals, people with severe mental health issues, people with schizophrenia, and other personality disorders would often need to be detained in these facilities.

In the State of California, 5150 is code for an emotionally disturbed individual.

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Has every person with 5150 tattooed upon themselves been in a psychiatric facility?

Now, based upon what we’ve found out about the 5150 tattoo meaning, you might be wondering whether every single person with 5150 tattooed upon themselves has been in a psychiatric facility, and the answer is no.

While it is true that a lot of people with this tattoo have been sectioned in the past, and/or have dealt with severe mental health/psychiatric health issues in the past, the truth of the matter is that not everybody has.

Some people choose to have these numbers tattooed upon their bodies because they’re proud of how they have progressed as humans.

In the past, they may have struggled with their demons, but if they were able to overcome them, the 5150 tattoo could serve as a reminder of their history.

The tattoo shows that they are proud of how far they’ve come, and shows that they are not ashamed of their past.

In some ways, the tattoo is helping to undo the stigmatism associated with mental health disorders.

Some people have these tattoos, not literally because they have been housed in one of these facilities, but rather because they believe that they have the mentality of somebody who may have been housed there.

People with short tempers, who are impulsive, and who wear their hearts on their sleeves often have these tattoos.

Ice Cube has mentioned, in one of his tracks, being a product thanks to being stuck at 5150, and Yelawolf has 51 tattooed on one eyelid and 50 tattooed upon the other.

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5150 tattoo meaning and Van Halen

Not everybody with a 5150 tattoo has it as a result of mental health issues or psychiatric treatments; however, the tattoo is also very popular with some music fans.

Van Halen fans, for example, often have 5150 tattoos on their bodies, usually on their arms, because the rock band Van Halen released their seventh studio album in 1986, calling it 5150.

Van Halen were, of course, one of the most popular rock groups on the planet.

The band called their album 5150 after Eddie Van Halen’s studio in his home.

He named his studio 5150 in reference to section 5150 of the California Welfare and Institutions Code.

The term, as you now know, is used by California law enforcement in reference to a very mentally disturbed individual.

Rather than using the numbers in a negative manner, however, music fans instead adorn their bodies with these numbers to celebrate their love of Van Halen and to honor one of the best albums that the band ever released.

The album was noteworthy also because it was the first Van Halen album to be released with Sammy Hagar as lead singer, who had replaced David Lee Roth.

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