Following a campaign by the dating app Tinder, emojis representing interracial couples are on the way. This week, Unicode Consortium, the organization behind global emoji standards, released artwork for the new pairings. The 71 new emojis will depict different configurations of race and gender, rather than the generic yellow skin tone which has previously been the default.
Unicode made the decision to be more inclusive of modern romance in response to a Change.org petition launched by Tinder last year. The company, which has a culturally diverse user base, used the #RepresentLove hashtag to reach its audience and garner more than 52,000 signatures, stating: “While emojis for people of color and emojis for same-sex couples both became a reality in 2015, one group of people is still excluded from emoji representation: interracial couples. Isn’t it time all love was represented?”
The company’s official blog went into further detail on how something as seemingly trivial as an emoji can have a lasting positive impact on how interracial romance is perceived in society.
“This isn’t just about emojis, folks,” the post said. “Interracial couples have struggled throughout history for acceptance and representation, and these emojis are literally and figuratively, important symbols.”
Actress, talk show host, and “Tinder Ambassador” Tamera Mowry-Housley shared one of the new emojis in a paid Instagram post, saying: “There’s never been an emoji to represent interracial couples like @adamhousley and me. But there’s gonna be, thanks to @tinder.”
View this post on Instagram
There’s never been an emoji to represent interracial couples like @adamhousley and me. But there’s gonna be, thanks to @tinder. I think love is beautiful, so put a🖐🏾in the comments with #RepresentLove if you’re with me! #Tinder_Ambassador
A post shared by tameramowrytwo (@tameramowrytwo) on
Unicode has continually updated its emoji designs to encompass cultural diversity, releasing a new range of skin tones in 2014. 2019’s latest batch also included a new wheelchair emoji.
Source: Read Full Article