About

Double Arm Band Tattoo Hidden Meaning or Two Armband Tattoos Meaning refers to a purported lesser-known meaning behind a common tattoo design consisting of two thick, parallel, often black bands or "bracelets" around a person's forearm. The meaning of these tattoos is often debated online, with some claiming that, in the LGBTQ+ community, they represent how far a person can fit their arm up another person during the sexual act of fisting. Others refer to them as "mourning bands" and claim they represent the mourning of a dead loved one, while others claim they are simply aesthetically pleasing. Discussions about the "secret meaning" behind the tattoo, referring to the fisting claims, became increasingly popularized throughout the 2010s and 2020s.

Origin

Like many tattoos, a black armband or bracelet tattoo has several meanings. For example, many consider armband tattoos, including single and double armband tattoos, "mourning bands," meant to signify the mourning of someone.^[1]

On December 26th, 2011, a Redditor made a post to /r/tattoos^[2] asking what the black band tattoos mean, with u/Yorikor commenting, "How deep that fist has been inside another person," garnering over 100 upvotes in 13 years (shown below). This is the earliest known reference to this specific meaning of the tattoos.

Spread

The "fisting" meaning gained viral spread over the following years. On August 25th, 2018, James Besanvalle posted an article to Medium^[3] sharing this as the meaning of the tattoo. On February 15th, 2020, the meaning was shared to the subreddit /r/askgaybros,^[4] with one commenter suggesting that gay adult media star Brent Everett helped popularize this meaning, although the claim is unconfirmed.

On April 20th, 2021, a meme about the tattoo design was posted to /r/TIHI^[5] with the caption, "why do people get their fisting records tattooed?" garnering over 40,000 upvotes in three years (shown below).

On January 31st, 2022, the tattoo's meaning was asked about on the subreddit /r/TattooDesigns,^[6] garnering over 1,300 upvotes in two years. On June 26th, 2023, TikToker^[7] @mrlewislaney posted a video sharing the meaning of the tattoo, also coining Everett as popularizing the tattoo among the gay community, garnering over 380,000 views in a year (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References