New emojis are coming, and this time we are ready to bet that controversy will arise among the conservatives.
37 new smileys are planned for the next update of iOS 15.4, and so far so good. But who knows what the reception of some of these new designs will be like. Especially of one: the pregnant man. Where man should not be understood as a human being but as a male, a noun that in recent times – with the ever increasing attention to the concept of gender fluidity – is losing much of its meaning.
But let’s not digress too much and let’s go in order, first of all analyzing the 37 new emojis arriving.
The 37 new emojis announced last September
In fact, the group of 37 new emojis had already been announced last September.
The lords of the Unicode Consortium, the international body of the major software developers and hardware manufacturers, are those who make sure to find writing characters and emojis that are understandable and usable by users from all corners of the planet. And here it is in September they promised 37 new emojis, which became 144 with various skin shades.
A sign, that of the different shades of the epidermis, of a growing attention to the elimination of all discrimination.
Here are the new emojis
Finally the Unicode Consortium presented the 37 new emojis. Which, appeared in the iOS 15.4 beta released on Thursday, January 27, in the spring they should be usable by all iOS and Android users. But what emoji is it?
The new smileys
Let’s go into the terminology. Smileys are the sub-category of emojis represented by real round yellow (or other colored) smileys, which can symbolize an ever-widening range of feelings.
There are 7 new smileys released, a record number since 2017, when 8 were presented.
Thus we have the melting face emoji, the one with open eyes and mouth (Face with Open Eyes and Hand Over Mouth) and the one with the peeking eye (Face with Peeking Eye). In addition to the martial Saluting Face and the smiley that holds back tears (Face Holding Back Tears).
The Unicode Consortium and the Person category
But the emoji meant to be chatted is another.
Before introducing it, it is good to know that in 2019 the Unicode Consortium made an important decision. That, that is, to divide the emoji into three categories, adding to the two canonical Man and Woman a third, called Person. Which evidently identifies sexual identities other than the man-woman polarity.
And so, in the recent past – among others – the bearded lady emoji or non-binary Santa Claus emoji appeared.
Regardless of any discontent that the decision may arouse in those who do not accept what are called non-binary identities, there is no doubt that there are (and are increasingly numerous) human beings who do not recognize themselves in the two so-called “classic” sexualities. And it is equally undoubted that an international body responsible for identifying universally recognized and accepted codes must be on the side of inclusiveness.
All this to say what?
The pregnant man emoji
To say that among the new emojis just presented, that of the pregnant man also appeared.
The pregnant person also made an appearance to complete the triad. And who represents this “pregnant person” explains Emojipedia, the Wikipedia of emojis, not without irony: “trans men, non-binary people or women with short hair”.
Between irony and controversy
Speaking of irony, there are already those who think of re-adapting the emoji of the pregnant man, unhinging it from its original meaning and using it to indicate oneself or others at the end of a too generous lunch.
Better a free interpretation of the new emoji, rather than the position of those who have already triggered controversy in the smell of sexophobia. As did Tucker Carlson, Fox News host who in the past has repeatedly expressed misogynistic and racist views.
The other new emojis
We concentrated on the most sensational faces, forgetting (almost) to give you an account of the others.
Among the 37 new emojis are also an ID card, some beans, the hand of Fatima, a slide, a crowned face, a dead battery and an X-ray plate, a life preserver and a troll. Besides different hand positions, including that of the Korean heart (thumb and index finger crossed).
The various skin colors also multiply. In short: the world is changing and the concept of “strange” is losing its meaning. It makes us smile that emojis remind the most distracted, but perhaps better that way than nothing.