Here at Hyperallergic, we’ve discussed — and griped about — the limited menu of emoji on smartphones, but now there’s word that Apple may expand the usual emoji suspects with more racial diversity to reflect a more inclusive reality. While emoji may have first taken off in Japan, the current collection features only two noticeably happy Asian faces, a man with a turban and a man with a Chinese-style hat.
An Apple spokesperson even admitted to MTV that there needs to be more diversity and that they are “working closely with the Unicode Consortium in an effort to update the standard.”
Hell, back in 2012 pop star Miley Cyrus, who isn’t exactly known for cultural sensitivities, thought there was something odd about the homogeneity of her emoji options:
So, since Apple and others are considering the diversification of emojis (which I fully support), I thought it would be a good time to suggest a few other emoji to help us have the types of conversations we regularly have in the art world. Here are some suggestions:
Needed: Emoji with BIG hair.