Choose Who You Are: New Gender Fluid Emojis By Google

Google launches a set of new emojis as a bold step towards gender-fluidity.

Is that a man or a woman? Oh! It’s a human. 

(Photo: Google Emoji) 

Remember the 90s when we had just two recognised genders and only 176 emojis that were freshly introduced? Well, we’ve come a long way since the 20th century; we have more than 3000 emojis at our service and a multitude of genders to associate ourselves with. Google’s new initiative seems to take us further into a more potpourri-like future with zero alienation of anyone.

Google has initiated 53 new emojis that do not visually belong to any specific gender. These emojis will be launched in Pixel phones in beta within a week and in Android Q phones later this year.

It looks like another celebratory inclusion to the keyboard after having interracial emojis and the emoticons that exhibit homosexual couples, single-gender parents and even a single parent. With the introduction of these non-binary emojis, we get to witness a broader representation of world in the widely used mode of communication that is texting.

A brief glimpse of the new emojis!

The said new set of 53 emojis has similar facial features but varying length of hair and different hairstyles to represent the ambiguity of attaching oneself to a specific conventional gender. Not just humans, there are gender-fluid superheroes, elves, fairies, zombies, etc.

The new swimmer emoji appears fully clad from waist above unlike the shirtless male swimmer and female swimmer in a camisole swimsuit. Even the new Dracula emoji dons a gold chain instead of a bowtie worn by male Dracula or a choker seen on the female counterpart. Interestingly, the new mermaid emoji has its arms crossed as to hide the certain representation of chest or bosom.

All these emojis that will soon be embedded in our keyboards might get regularly used or ignored like thousand other emoticons on your keyboard. However, the thing to be noted here is the little details included by the designers and the no-hate thought process behind such creativity.