Are you, unlike me, an emoji aficionado?
If commandeering a cartoon to communicate your consciousness is how you get your kicks, this story’s for you.
Great news: You’ll soon have more options.
In September, the Unicode Consortium — a non-profit overseeing emoji releases and standards — will formally approve a new set of icons for your smartphone self-indulgence.
As for what might be waiting, CNN Business recently laid it out.
Per the outlet, Emojipedia has fingered the finalists being considered by Unicode.
For those of you pining for protracted pigment possibilities, things are looking up: Version 14.0’s list hosts a handshake in 15 shades of skin.
Other offerings:
saluting face
melting face
face holding back tears
low battery symbol
disco ball
CNN notes, “Although Emojipedia often creates interpretations of how some of the emoji may look, the official designs are decided by and vary by platform or service. That means an emoji can look very different on iOS and Android devices, for example.”
Where social progress is concerned, Unicode Consortium knows peck-typing employers of pictures are no prudes.
Hence, the batch of potential visual tools will be not only more expressive, but more woke.
Included in the array: a drawing of a pregnant man.
Also: a “pregnant person.”
The move is due, in the words of the cable news network, to the fact that “pregnancy is possible among some transgender men and non-binary people.”
An Emojipedia blog post reveals more:
Pregnant Man and Pregnant Person are new… These are additions to the existing Pregnant Woman emoji.
Person with Crown is a gender-inclusive alternative to the existing emojis for Princess and Prince.
The above additions will mean that nearly all emojis can have default a gender neutral option, with choice to use a woman or man where relevant. A few exceptions remain, which are being reviewed…
'Pregnant Man' and 'Person With Crown' Included in New Emojis List https://t.co/szEdTNfDfS
— Queerly 🏳️🌈 📻 (@QueerlyRadio) July 15, 2021
The notion of a bun-ovening bro, of course, is increasingly common.
“Man” — a term originally intended to denote biological sex — is now being used to reference an identity…by the same side of a cultural aisle, if I understand correctly, which previously insisted and also somewhat still insists such an aesthetic is socially constructed.
As we figure things out, the masses march on:
Midwifery magazine shares gorgeous cover celebrating trans men who give birth https://t.co/wx8umMDrUC
— PinkNews (@PinkNews) July 4, 2021
The revolution’s caused a few dustups, one occurring at a campground:
Gay Campground Gets Accused of 'Hateful' Transphobia for Banning Female Genitals https://t.co/GtsUGimspw
— RedState (@RedState) March 24, 2021
But institutions are attempting to iron out the kinks:
Breastfeeding Academy Bails on ‘Breasts’
‘Nonbinary Gender Affirming’ Doctors Offer Sexual ‘Nullification’ Surgery
As for nonbinary emojis, they already exist.
Back to CNN:
In more recent years, the consortium added a woman with a beard…
So in the future — and even now — if you’re congratulating someone on a pregnancy…or announcing one yourself…you’ve got multiple ways of messaging your emoji mojo.
But for my part, I implore you: Just type the words.
-ALEX
See more pieces from me:
Beehold: The Return of the Murder Hornet
Professor Insists U.S. Is ‘Only for White People,’ Talks ‘Redemption’ When ‘There Is No America’
University of California Op-Ed Insists Calling Women ‘Females’ Is ‘Dehumanizing’
Find all my RedState work here.
Thank you for reading! Please sound off in the Comments section below.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member