The internet has always been a source of depraved and debaucherous content. But over the past couple of years, we’ve witnessed guys and gals become increasingly lax with the stuff they let fly on social media—particularly when it comes to talking about being horny.

In a digital culture where we openly discuss dick pics, eating ass, and ahegao face, someone (or something) has to reign us in. Enter the horny “Go to Horny Jail” meme.

For the uninitiated, “go to horny jail” is an online slang phrase often accompanied by an image of a Doge hitting another Doge with a baseball bat, along with a “BONK” caption. The meme is usually posted as a reaction when someone acts horny on social media (more on this later).

Unlike Twitter Jail or Facebook Jail (which refer to the real-life consequence of having your account suspended), horny jail doesn’t have any tangible ramifications. Instead, it’s a tool to keep people’s unhinged horniess in check and restore some semblance of innocence to public forums—or at least attempt to.

Read on to unpack the history of horny jail, how it works, and what it means for our society moving forward.

The History of the “Go to Horny Jail” Meme

On March 19, 2020, a fellow by the name of BaconatorSr posted an image macro on iFunny featuring a Doge whacking Cheems with the caption: “Go to Horny Jail BONK.” (Yes, this is the same Shiba Inu that became the face of Dogecoin seven years prior).

It’s unclear how exactly BaconatorSr intended his creation to be used, but the image quickly started trending on Twitter in replies to people sharing sexual content on social media—whether explicit or implied.

However, as Urban Dictionary points out, telling someone to go to horny jail can also be a common response to posts that have nothing to do with sex—just to troll.

Today, “go to horny jail” is well-established in the meme lexicon. You’ll find it on TikTok, YouTube, Reddit, Minecraft, and everywhere else horny people linger. But it seems to be the most popular in the anime community.

How Does Horny Jail Work?

So you want to start reprimanding strangers on the internet for sharing sexual innuendo - great. Here’s how it works.

First, find someone who’s being “horny on main.” This is another slang term which refers to the act of posting or engaging with sexually suggestive content on your main social media account as opposed to a burner account or “finsta.” This is a popular meme on Tumblr which gained steam when Senator Ted Cruz “liked” a pornographic tweet in 2017.

Okay, so you’ve identified your perpetrator of online horniness. Now all you have to do is drop the “go to horny jail” meme under their post and wait for your sweet, sweet likes/retweets to roll in.

For example, when writer and podcast host Grace Spelman tweeted that she was scrolling through her followers to find hot people, some dude hit her with the horny jail meme.

Another textbook example was when someone made lustful comments about Lily, the saleswoman character in the AT&T commercials who gained unwanted notoriety from—you guessed it—horny dudes.

In many instances, horny jail sentences aren’t administered by random people, but rather the Horny Police Twitter account, which broadcasts instances of people being publicly horny online. As of this writing, the Horny Police has more than half a million followers.

Is Horny Jail Good or Bad for Society?

As lockdowns and quarantines prevented many of us from interacting in real life, it’s understandable that our erotic energy leaked into digital life. However, some folks don’t believe that’s healthy for society and we, therefore, need horny jail as a means to practice self-restraint. 

“The real reason for not being ‘horny on main’ is not grossing your friends out,” writes Mary Harrington in her Substack column. “It’s intensifying the joy of horny when unleashed in its proper place…If we want to end the sex recession, we all need to go to horny jail.”

What she’s saying (we think) is that if people weren’t so perverted on social media, they could channel that energy into hot, steamy, IRL sex. Therefore, the horny jail meme is essential for more better sex—at least that’s the theory.

Anyway, while you’re scrolling through funny memes and TikTok on the toilet, make sure you’re stocked up on DUDE Wipes.