Interracial Couple Emojis Are Coming, Thanks to Tinder
Contributed by: kellyseal on Tuesday, March 19 2019 @ 09:54 am
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The Unicode Consortium, otherwise known as the gatekeeper of emojis, has introduced interracial couple emojis to their growing lexicon of inclusive choices. The new emojis will debut later in 2019, in large part thanks to dating app Tinder.
According to Mashable, when the new emojis debut, you can choose from a mix of different skin color and gender combinations, including interracial same-sex couples, depending on your preference. The combinations provide a total of 71 new couple variations. Until now, the only couple or group emojis available has been the default yellow emojis.
Tinder advocated for interracial couple emojis[*1] back in early 2018 with its #representlove campaign. The company had already made efforts to be more inclusive by offering a range of gender and sexuality preferences people could include in their dating profiles, so the emoji campaign was another way to advocate for and appeal to its userbase. Tinder introduced a petition to Unicode after gathering 50,000 signatures, making a case to add the new emojis.
“Tinder advocates for the freedom of people to live how they want to live and love who they want to love,” Tinder CMO Jenny Campbell told Mashable.
Asking for new emojis isn’t easy. According to Reuters, The Unicode Consortium only approves between 50 and 100 new emojis each year (not including varying skin tone colors). Each request must go through a thorough review process, and according to website Bustle, petitioners do their research. One group advocated for a yerba mate emoji and provided a 40-page proposal to back up their efforts.
Tinder first introduced emojis and gifs into its messaging system back in 2016, noting that this was a way for people to better connect and express themselves. The petition for interracial emojis has been another branding initiative for the popular dating app, which under its parent company Match Group, is setting its sights on younger users who prefer to communicate with emojis.
The addition of interracial couple emojis is a significant cultural moment, and signify that times are changing when it comes to love and marriage. According to Pew Research Center, in 2015 one in six marriages were interracial, a significant jump from 1967 when the U.S. Supreme Court first ruled such unions were legal, and when only three percent of marriages were interracial.
Tinder recently commissioned its own study that showed 77 percent of its users say they are more open-minded about who they date when they use dating apps.
The new emojis will be available in the fall of 2019. For more or this dating service you can read our Tinder review.