Published 11:34 IST, March 8th 2019
Emoji representing heterosexual and same-sex couples of different skin tones coming soon
A set of interracial couples emoji will finally release later this year, following Tinder’s campaign. Last year, the dating app started a campaign to have a diverse set of emoji added
A set of interracial couples emoji will finally release later this year, following Tinder’s campaign. Last year, the dating app started a campaign to have a diverse set of emoji added. Tinder revealed their petition reached more than 50,000 signatures. Therefore, we can soon expect interracial couples emoji to hit all the smartphone platforms. These emoji represent both heterosexual and same-sex couple of different skin tones.
“Together with 50,000+ of you, we petitioned @Unicode to #RepresentLove by adding interracial couple emojis—and we WON. We're honored/proud/every phrase expressing joy. Thanks to everyone that showed their support,” Twitter said on Twitter.
Tinder had started the petition last year in collaboration with Reddit co-founder and executive chairman Alexis Ohanian, who is married to American Tennis player Serena Williams. The proposal requesting to have the emoji representing two people of different skin tones and genders standing next to each other and holding hands was submitted to the Unicode Consortium in August.
The Unicode Consortium selects and governs the emoji used by all the smartphones and platforms worldwide. Commenting on this victory, here is what Tinder’s Jenny Campbell had to say:
“Tinder advocates for the freedom of people to live how they want to live and love who they want to love. The success of our Interracial Couple Emoji campaign shows how powerful the voices are of the more than 50,000 people who joined our cause by signing our petition; together, we effected change and ensured visual representation for interracial couples around the world. I couldn’t be more proud of this incredibly positive outcome.”
Campbell is serving as the chief marketing officer at Tinder.
Last month, Unicode announced a list of 230 new emoji headed to smartphones this year. These emoji include mechanical arm, deaf person, drop of blood, waffle, ice cube, yawning face, pinching hand, among others.
Updated 11:34 IST, March 8th 2019