{"id":7207,"date":"2019-02-06T23:27:25","date_gmt":"2019-02-06T23:27:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/disability-themed-emojis-approved-for-use\/"},"modified":"2019-02-06T23:27:25","modified_gmt":"2019-02-06T23:27:25","slug":"disability-themed-emojis-approved-for-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/disability-themed-emojis-approved-for-use\/","title":{"rendered":"Disability-themed emojis approved for use"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\"Disability-themedImage copyright<\/span>
\n Unicode Consortium<\/span><\/p>\n

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The introduction of dozens of new accessibility-themed emojis has been welcomed by disability rights campaigners.<\/p>\n

The new characters<\/a> include hearing aids, wheelchairs, prosthetic limbs, white “probing” canes and guide dogs.<\/p>\n

They follow a complaint by Apple that few existing emojis spoke to the experiences of those with disabilities.<\/p>\n

Their inclusion in 2019’s official list means many smartphones should gain them in the second half of the year.<\/p>\n

“Social media is hugely influential and it’s great to see these new disability-inclusive emojis,” said Phil Talbot, from the disability charity Scope.<\/p>\n

“Up to now, disability has been greatly underrepresented. <\/p>\n

“We’d also like to see greater representation of disabled people and disability across all parts of the media and social media.”<\/p>\n

Approved art<\/h2>\n

A total of 230 new emojis feature in what is the sixth major update to the official list.<\/p>\n

It is maintained by a California-based group made up of representatives of computing companies, software developers and others, who ensure that users of different devices and apps can send emojis to each other.<\/p>\n

The various platform owners – including Apple, Google, Microsoft, Samsung, Facebook and Twitter – can tweak Unicode’s designs to their own liking but are supposed to ensure that each character remains recognisable from one product to another.<\/p>\n

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Image copyright<\/span>
\n Unicode Consortium<\/span><\/p>\n

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The latest approved art includes men and women of different ethnicities using disability aids as well spotlighting individual products.<\/p>\n

In addition, men and women are pictured moving a finger between their ear and their mouth, which is used as a deaf sign in American Sign Language.<\/p>\n

The emojis build on the 13 drawings submitted by Apple in March 2018<\/a> after it had consulted the American Council of the Blind and the National Association of the Deaf, among other organisations.<\/p>\n

It had noted that one in seven people around the world had some form of disability.<\/p>\n

Period emoji<\/h2>\n

Another notable addition to the emoji library is a drop of blood, which is meant to offer women a new way to talk about menstruation.<\/p>\n

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Image copyright<\/span>
\n Unicode<\/span><\/p>\n

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Its addition follows a campaign by Plan International UK, a girls’ rights charity that held an online vote in 2017 for what a period-themed emoji should look like<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The most popular choice was a pair of pants marked by blood but when that was rejected by the Unicode Consortium, the charity pushed for a blood drop instead.<\/p>\n

“For years we’ve obsessively silenced and euphemised periods,” said Lucy Russell, head of girls’ rights at the group.<\/p>\n

“An emoji isn’t going to solve this but it can help change the conversation. Ending the shame around periods begins with talking about it”. <\/p>\n

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Image copyright<\/span>
\n Unicode Consortium<\/span><\/p>\n

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Image caption<\/span>
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\n A skunk, parachutist and waffle also join the list
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\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Other new images include<\/a>:<\/p>\n