The Men Holding Hands: Medium-dark Skin Tone emoji (👬🏾) shows two men holding hands, with a medium-dark skin tone applied. It stands for romantic partnership between men, close friendship, solidarity, and togetherness, and it is widely used in LGBTQ+ pride posts, anniversary messages, and celebrations of brotherhood and support.
What Does the Men Holding Hands: Medium-dark Skin Tone Emoji Mean?
This emoji means two men connected by love, friendship, or mutual support, shown with a medium-dark skin tone.
The base image is two standing men holding hands, which Unicode calls MEN HOLDING HANDS. The skin tone modifier gives the pair a medium-dark appearance, so users can see themselves or their loved ones reflected in the emoji instead of settling for the default yellow.
Because the image is a simple, wordless gesture, it carries several readings at once. Context decides which one the sender intends:
- Romantic love: a gay or bisexual male couple, dating, engaged, or married.
- Friendship and brotherhood: two close friends, brothers, or teammates who stand by each other.
- Solidarity and community: support for LGBTQ+ people, or a general message of togetherness.
- Representation: a way for men with medium-dark skin to see their own relationships in emoji form.
If you want the version without a skin tone modifier, the Men Holding Hands emoji is the standard option.
How Is This Emoji Built, and What Are Its Technical Details?
The emoji is a sequence of two Unicode codepoints: U+1F46C (MEN HOLDING HANDS) followed by U+1F3FE (the medium-dark skin tone modifier).
It belongs to the People & Body category and was introduced in Unicode 12.0 and Emoji 12.0. The earlier base emoji existed long before that, but Unicode 12.0 added the ability to give each person in the pair a skin tone through dedicated sequences, and this version applies the medium-dark tone.
The standard shortcode is :men_holding_hands_medium_dark_skin_tone:. One practical detail worth knowing: in this specific emoji, the single modifier is applied as one combined sequence, so if your device does not support it, you may see the base emoji followed by a small brown square instead of a joined image.
You can browse other related characters in the People & Body emoji category.
How Do You Use the Men Holding Hands: Medium-dark Skin Tone Emoji?
Use it whenever you want to show connection between two men, whether that connection is romantic, platonic, or communal.
In romantic messages
Couples use it in anniversary captions, engagement announcements, and everyday affection. Pair it with a short sentiment and it reads clearly as a love emoji.
- Three years with my best person 👬🏾 Happy anniversary, love.
- Said yes to forever today 👬🏾💍
In friendship and family contexts
The gesture of holding hands is also a sign of trust, so the emoji works for close male friends, brothers, or a father and son who want to express closeness. This usage is common among communities where affection between men is openly celebrated.
- Day one and still riding together 👬🏾
In advocacy and community posts
During Pride Month, in support of marriage equality, or in posts about LGBTQ+ inclusion, the emoji signals visible allyship and belonging. It is often placed beside hashtags or a rainbow emoji.
What Does 👬🏾 Mean in Texting and on Social Media?
In texting and social media, 👬🏾 most often signals a male couple or a pair of close male friends, with the skin tone adding personal identity.
On Instagram and TikTok it commonly appears in couple captions, throwback posts, and Pride content. In group chats it can be used playfully between friends, for example when two friends show up somewhere together or make a joint announcement.
Tone depends on your relationship with the reader. Between partners it feels warm and intimate. Between friends it can be affectionate or teasing. In public posts it often functions as a quiet statement of identity and pride.
Choosing a skin tone is itself part of the message. It tells people that the sender is thinking about who is actually in the picture, which many users find more meaningful than the default.
How Does the Men Holding Hands: Medium-dark Skin Tone Emoji Look on Different Platforms?
Each platform draws two men hand in hand in its own art style, so the exact look of the clothing, hair, and hand position varies.
Support begins with the following software versions:
- Apple: iOS 13.2+ and macOS 10.15.1+
- Google: Android 10.0+
- Microsoft: Windows 10 version 1903+
- Samsung: One UI 2.0+
- WhatsApp (Meta): version 2.20+
- Twitter: Twemoji 12.1+
If a friend has an older phone or operating system, they may see the standard yellow pair with a separate color swatch next to it. The meaning is still understandable, but the display is not as clean. When it matters, a quick note or an additional emoji can make sure the message lands.
Which Emojis Pair Well With 👬🏾?
Pair 👬🏾 with hearts, rings, rainbows, and celebratory symbols to reinforce romantic or community meaning.
- 👬🏾❤️ for love and affection
- 👬🏾🏳️🌈 for Pride and LGBTQ+ support
- 👬🏾💍 for engagements and weddings
- 👬🏾🎉 for celebrations and milestones
- 👬🏾👀 for playful teasing, such as noticing two friends together (see the Eyes emoji)
- 👬🏾👍 for approval or encouragement (see the Thumbs Up emoji)
If you are building a message from scratch, the Emoji Translator can turn a sentence into emoji suggestions, and the trending emojis page shows what people are using right now.
When Should You Avoid the Men Holding Hands: Medium-dark Skin Tone Emoji?
Avoid it when the meaning could be misread, when the recipient may not be ready for the implication, or when the skin tone does not fit the people you are describing.
Consider these situations:
- Outing someone: do not use it to imply a relationship or orientation someone has not shared publicly. Sharing that information is not yours to do.
- Unclear relationships: in a work chat or with someone you barely know, the romantic reading may be assumed, so choose another emoji if you only mean friendly support.
- Mocking or jokes at someone's expense: using it to tease men about being close can come across as demeaning, especially to LGBTQ+ people.
- Mismatched representation: if you are illustrating a specific pair, pick the skin tone that matches them, or use the neutral default men holding hands emoji.
In formal communication such as business emails, the emoji is usually unnecessary. In inclusive or community-focused workplaces, it can be appropriate in a celebratory post, but keep it respectful and tied to a clear message.
How Does It Differ From Other Similar Emojis?
This emoji differs from other pairs mainly by gender and skin tone: it shows two men with a medium-dark tone, while other options show a woman and a man, two women, or different tone combinations.
If you want to represent a mixed pair of skin tones, Unicode 12.0 provides combinations that let each person have a different shade. This emoji, by contrast, applies a single medium-dark tone to the couple.
It is also distinct from gesture emojis that carry attitude, like shrugging or facepalming. For comparison, the Woman Shrugging: Light Skin Tone emoji expresses doubt, while this emoji expresses closeness. Browse the whole People & Body category to compare similar characters.
How Do You Copy and Paste the Men Holding Hands: Medium-dark Skin Tone Emoji?
Click the copy button on this page and the emoji 👬🏾 is saved to your clipboard in one step.
Then paste it into any app with Ctrl+V on Windows and Linux, or Cmd+V on macOS and iOS (long-press and choose Paste on a phone). Because the emoji is a two-part sequence, always copy the whole symbol rather than typing pieces separately, so the skin tone attaches correctly.
Once pasted, you can combine it with text, hearts, or other emojis. Keep the finished message short and clear, and the emoji will do the rest of the work: showing two people, together, exactly as you picture them.
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