People just learned the filthy meaning behind the black band tattoo, and I’m clutching my pearls

The meaning behind tattoos are as individual as the people sporting them, but the black band tattoo is proof that we should all research our tatts before getting inked.

Though they vary greatly between people, the tattoos are typically one or two black bands that go all around a person’s arm. It’s typically seen on the forearm, but there are cases where it’s as high as the upper bicep.

As for the meaning of the tattoo, I was completely ignorant of it until seeing a viral post on Twitter.

When I learnt the meaning of this tattoo, it changed the way I look at everyone that has one. The higher the wilder it gets pic.twitter.com/kDd6eAIE0U

— Lancesico 🇱🇨 (@Bornakang) April 27, 2026

“When I learnt the meaning of this tattoo, it changed the way I look at everyone that has one. The higher the wilder it gets,” the post was captioned, earning 3.9 million views.

Naturally, I Googled the meaning and was STUNNED to discover its LGBTQ+ origin. You see, in queer spaces, it has typically been a reference to fisting and how far someone can get their arm. The black band is a depth marker, if you will. According to people on Reddit, it was popularised by the gay p*rn performer, Brent Everett.

In the replies to the viral tweet, one person wrote: “I scream every time I see straight guys with these.”

“Unrelated: First time seeing this tattoo was in Teen Wolf series,” another pointed out.

“Just learned what this means for the gay community and I’ll never be the same after,” someone else said.

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I scream every time I see straight guys with these 😂😂 #depthmarker 👀 https://t.co/5zJNImYG3T

— Joe 🏳️‍🌈 (@joecousins89) April 27, 2026

There are other meanings for the black band tattoo

Though you might want to refrain from the black band tattoo to avoid odd looks from queer people, other meanings are bobbling about the internet.

“I thought those arm band tattoos that lots of gays have were supposed to look like an equal (=) sign which was supposed to be a statement about LGBTQ+ equality,” one person said on Twitter.

Other sites claim the double black band tattoo is to honour people we’ve lost, but there’s also a really obvious answer: Maybe they just like it.

Or maybe, just maybe, the guy standing in front of you at Tesco is really into fisting.

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Featured image credit: Twitter