The Men Holding Hands: Medium-dark Skin Tone, Dark Skin Tone emoji (👨🏾🤝👨🏿) shows two men joined hand in hand, one with a medium-dark skin tone and one with a dark skin tone. It stands for male couples, close friendship, solidarity, and partnership, and it lets two people with different skin tones be represented together.
What Does the Men Holding Hands: Medium-dark Skin Tone, Dark Skin Tone Emoji Mean?
This emoji means two men connected by affection, trust, or partnership, with each figure carrying a distinct skin tone.
The image is simple: two men standing side by side with their hands clasped. That gesture can carry romantic love, as in a gay couple, or platonic closeness, as in best friends, brothers, or teammates. Which meaning applies depends entirely on the message around it.
The skin tones matter as much as the gesture. The left figure uses the medium-dark tone (the Fitzpatrick scale type 5 modifier) and the right figure uses the dark tone (type 6). Pairing two neighboring dark tones lets people show themselves, their partner, or their friends more accurately than the default yellow version would.
Romantic meaning
Used between partners or about a relationship, it reads as a male couple. People often use it in anniversary posts, engagement announcements, and Pride month captions.
Platonic meaning
Used in a group chat or a caption about a close friend, it reads as brotherhood, loyalty, or standing together. Context and the accompanying words decide the tone.
How Do You Use the Men Holding Hands Emoji With These Skin Tones?
You use it wherever you want to picture two men together with a bond, and you choose these tones when they match the people you are talking about.
Because the emoji depicts a couple or pair, it works best when your message is about two specific people or about connection in general. It is a visual shorthand for "we are together" or "we have each other's backs."
- Three years with this guy and I'd choose him again every single time 👨🏾🤝👨🏿
- Happy Pride to everyone loving openly today 👨🏾🤝👨🏿🏳️🌈
- Ride or die since middle school 👨🏾🤝👨🏿
Notice how the same emoji shifts meaning across those three lines. The words around it, not the emoji alone, tell the reader whether the bond is romantic or platonic.
What Does 👨🏾🤝👨🏿 Mean in Texting and on Social Media?
In texting and social posts, it usually signals a male couple, a close friendship, or support for LGBTQ+ visibility.
In a one-on-one text between partners, it can serve as a quick affectionate reaction to a shared memory or plan. In a public post, it often accompanies photos of couples, wedding news, or community celebrations.
It also appears in posts about unity and representation. People use skin-tone-specific couple emojis to say that Black men, and Black queer couples in particular, deserve to be seen in everyday digital communication. Many users specifically seek out matching or complementary tones for this reason, since a default yellow emoji would not reflect them.
On dating profiles and bios
Some people place it in a profile or bio to signal that they are in a relationship with another man or to quietly show their identity. It is a soft signal, not a formal label, so treat it as an expression rather than a statement of fact about anyone.
How Is This Emoji Different From Other Couple and Handshake Emojis?
It differs because it shows two men with a hand clasp that reads as holding hands or a handshake, rather than a kiss or an embrace.
The sequence behind it is a ZWJ (zero width joiner) combination: man with skin tone, a handshake symbol, then a second man with skin tone. That construction is the reason the two figures can have different skin tones while sharing one image.
Compared with kissing or heart-based couple emojis, this one is gentler and more flexible. It can read as romance, but it can also read as partnership, agreement, or friendship, much like a handshake does. If you want to be unmistakably romantic, add a heart. If you want it purely friendly, add a note like "bro" or "best friend."
- With a heart (❤️): clearly romantic
- With a rainbow flag (🏳️🌈): Pride and LGBTQ+ celebration
- With a fist or flexed bicep: brotherhood and support
How Does the Emoji Look on Different Platforms?
Each platform draws its own version of the two men, so the poses, clothing, and shading differ slightly while the overall idea stays the same.
Support for this emoji arrived with Unicode 12.1 and Emoji 12.1, so you need a reasonably modern device. The supported platforms listed for this emoji are:
- Apple: iOS 13.2+ and macOS 10.15.1+
- Google: Android 10.0+
- Microsoft: Windows 10 version 1903+
- Samsung: One UI 2.0+
- WhatsApp: version 2.20+
- Twitter: Twemoji 12.1+
If you or the person you are messaging use an older system, the sequence may break apart into separate pieces, such as two individual men and a handshake shown side by side, instead of one joined image. Updating your operating system or messaging app usually fixes that.
Which Emojis Pair Well With 👨🏾🤝👨🏿?
The best pairings are hearts, Pride symbols, and celebratory or supportive emojis that clarify the tone.
Pairing is where this emoji gets its precision. A heart or rainbow pushes it toward romance and identity, while a thumbs up or fist pushes it toward friendship and teamwork. For a casual approval in a friendly context, try it next to the thumbs up emoji.
If you are reacting to something you are watching or reading, the eyes emoji can add curiosity or playful nosiness to a post about a new couple. Those who want to explore more of the family of people and relationship symbols can browse the People & Body emoji category.
- 👨🏾🤝👨🏿❤️ for love and anniversaries
- 👨🏾🤝👨🏿🏳️🌈 for Pride and visibility
- 👨🏾🤝👨🏿🎉 for engagements and celebrations
- 👨🏾🤝👨🏿🙌 for shared wins and support
When Should You Avoid This Emoji?
Avoid it when you would be guessing or revealing someone's relationship or identity without their consent.
Tagging two real people with a couple emoji can imply a romantic relationship they have not announced. If you are unsure whether two friends are comfortable with that reading, use a clearly platonic message or choose a different symbol.
It is also worth thinking about the setting. In formal workplace messages, a couple emoji is rarely necessary and may be out of place. In some regions and communities, public displays of same-sex affection carry real risk, so consider privacy before posting it publicly.
Finally, avoid using skin-tone-specific emojis as a joke or a costume. These tones exist so real people can see themselves represented, and they deserve respectful use.
How Do You Copy and Paste the Men Holding Hands: Medium-dark Skin Tone, Dark Skin Tone Emoji?
You can copy this emoji with one click on this page and paste it into any app that supports Emoji 12.1 or newer.
Click the emoji at the top of the page, and it is copied to your clipboard. Then paste it into your message, post, document, or bio with the usual paste command (Ctrl+V on Windows or Cmd+V on Mac, or a long press on a phone).
If you want to turn a whole sentence into emojis, try the Emoji Translator. To see what other people are sending right now, check the trending emojis page.
Remember that the emoji is a sequence of several characters joined together, so copy it as a whole rather than selecting part of it. If it appears as separate symbols after pasting, the app or device may not fully support Emoji 12.1 yet.
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