A lot has changed since the first version of the emoji keyboard was released: After garnering criticism, emojis became more racially diverse and included same-sex families and 32 new flags in April 2015. And developers are currently mulling a proposal to add more professional female emojis.
But many activists say another key flag is still missing: a rainbow flag to honor the LGBTQ community. Colton Price-Fiore’s Care2 petition asking the Unicode Consortium to create a rainbow flag emoji has gathered nearly 40,000 signatures. After the recent shooting at an Orlando LGBTQ nightclub that killed nearly 50, Price-Fiore says the change is more needed than ever.
View the Care2 petition here.
“The tragic events in Orlando underscore why recognition of the LGBTQ community is much needed across a popular and influential platform: the emoji keyboard,” Price-Fiore, who is from the Philadelphia area, told Care2. “I started my Care2 petition for a rainbow flag emoji a year ago, and since then the Unicode Consortium has approved a slew of new emojis, but the LGBTQ flag continues to be lacking. It’s past time for this change to be implemented to honor a community that is so often and so tragically the target of threats and violence.”
Price-Fiore told Care2 that he believes the Unicode Consortium, the nonprofit that standardizes emojis, has “done a great job of listening to the concerns of the public and adding new emojis accordingly.” But yet another Pride month is upon us, and no rainbow flag emoji is in sight.
The Care2 petition targets Mark Davis, president of the Unicode Consortium, as well as the CEOs of Apple, Microsoft, and Google, which are among the tech companies responsible for implementing the changes on their platforms.
A separate Care2 petition with over 9,500 signatures is urging the Unicode Consortium to adopt female professional emojis proposed by a team of Google employees. They include a female scientist, doctor, academic, food service worker, and musician. The petition notes that the current emojis that feature professionals — including a doctor, detective, construction worker, and a guard — are all male
I myself am bisexual.. and I hold a lot of pride in that