"I signed the petition because I feel consistently invalidated as a bisexual person." (Though, in Marino's case he submitted his proposal months before creating the petition.) In fact, citing one could be a reason for exclusion. Unfortunately, Unicode doesn't take petitions into account in their emoji-choosing process. Others agreed, with commenters on the petition page exclaiming they signed "Because we deserve to be visible!" and because "Representation matters!" "I signed the petition because I feel consistently invalidated as a bisexual person," one anonymous signer told Mashable, "and it would be great to have some representation/recognition! It’s also a lot clearer than using the coloured hearts to signify my bisexuality." Indeed, Unicode - which hasn't responded to multiple requests for comment - didn't give Marino a reason for the rejection in their email, which he screenshotted in his blog post.Īnd bisexuals do want representation. "Seeing that the powers that be (Unicode Google, Facebook and Apple are members) finally were open to inclusive representation, a bisexual flag emoji was proposed - and rejected, for no reason." Notably, the transgender flag was included," Marino wrote. "Recently, the following new emoji were released: a plunger, an olive, a dodo bird, and a beaver. 16, and as of publication it has surpassed 10,000 signatures. 3, and was subsequently rejected on March 24.
Software engineer Tanner Marino submitted his proposal for a bisexual flag emoji on Feb. According to Unicode, proposals are considered for the following year's emoji release. The review process hinges on several factors detailed on Unicode's website, including whether the new emoji would be compatible across different platforms and whether it'd be used frequently. (Though employees of Unicode, as well as employees of Apple and Google, can also submit proposals.) Then the company reviews them and makes the ultimate decision. Unicode itself doesn't propose new emoji, the public do. New emoji are added by a proposal process.
So why, then, did Unicode reject a proposal for a bisexual pride flag emoji for next year's release? That was rectified this year: A trans flag emoji has now been rolled out. ?️? Rainbow Flag is a fully-qualified emoji as part of Unicode 7.0 which was introduced in 2014, and was added to Emoji 4.0.Last year, I wrote about how emoji-coder Unicode added 230 emoji, such as a banjo and kite, but neglected to include the trans pride flag. Whether you’re an ally, or a part of the community, another way to use the Rainbow Flag emoji is as a part of a name of a social media profile, for all to see! As such, it is sometimes known as the Bi Flag emoji when it’s used to represent the concerns of the bisexual community, or the Lesbian Flag emoji when it’s used to represent topics relevant to the lesbian community. The rainbow flag is used to symbolize the entire LGBT community. It is used to represent the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community, and is often seen in LGBT rights marches all around the world. This flag is an official symbol of all gay, bisexual, and transgender movements. Be proud of who you are! Wave the Rainbow Flag emoji across social media! This emoji is a colored illustration of the rainbow flag, a flag with six colors of the rainbow-orange, yellow, green, red, blue, and purple.