New Emojis Releasing Spring 2019 Include Waffles, Disability Representations and Inclusive Relationships

Heads up! Your emoji game is about to be lit as a wide variety of emojis are set to release in 2019!

Some of the 230 new emojis coming to devices everywhere are waffles, flamingos, wheelchairs, people who represent different backgrounds and ethnicities, prosthetic limbs, and an even wider variety of colored hearts.

According to Emojipedia, this is the sixth major emoji update since 2014. Important factors like skin tone, increased representation of women, gender inclusive people and hair color have all been added according to Unicode Standards, but this time around, the expansion is even broader. Unicode Consortium is a non-profit organization that manages the world’s emoji standards.

This year the expanded scope recognizes a wide range, covering several lifestyles people may live. Some include, people with various disabilities, a gender inclusive couple, as well as a mix of skin tones for people holding hands.

According to Elvis Duran, one emoji in particular was added specifically geared towards highlighting female menstruation cycles.

Emoji 12.0 added a drop of blood in order to normalize menstruation. The idea was encouraged by a campaign by Plan International to Apple, requesting the company include this specific emoji. At first, blood stained panties was submitted, but later denied, so instead, the company created a drop of blood.

“Not only would a blood drop emoji be relevant for hundreds of millions of women and people who menstruate all around the world, it would also show that periods aren’t taboo and they are something we should be able to talk about openly and honestly,” Plan International wrote in their proposal.

Other emojis being introduced include a sari, otter, hearing aids and service animals. Something else people can look forward to is the one that shows a character moving their finger between their ear and mouth in a nod to deaf sign in American Sign Language.

According to CNN, the emoji that shows the “pinching hand symbol” has sparked conversations who believe it will be used to reference a very small particular male body part.

The new look will require patience because people may not see the update on their phone for several months.

“The new emoji typically start showing up on mobile phones in September/October — some platforms may release them earlier,” Unicode Consortium said.

Also, depending on which device you have — either Google or Apple — will determine the style of emoji that will appear on your phone because each company add their own touch to the tiny characters.