Redheads are petitioning Apple for their own emoji
One specific coloring however, is absent: the redhead.
Redhead-focused website Ginger Parrot has launched a Change.org petition in response to this oversight, begging Apple to include a redheaded emoji in its next release.
"Despite the recent racial and sexual 'diversification' of Apple's emoji to be released in the next iOS 8.3 update, there's still an important group of people missing from the emoji family of 300 new symbols," Ginger Parrot's petition reads.
"If you say you're going to diversify, why not add a few red-haired emoji in the mix? Natural redheads may be rare at less than 2% of the world's population, but that is 138,000,000 iPhones waiting to happen."
Unfortunately for Ginger Parrot and its supporters, it's doubtful Apple will cave to their demands. So far, the plea has only managed to garner 2,303 supporters, a miniscule fraction of Apple's core market. Furthermore, Apple isn't even in charge of the emoji decision: The Unicode Consortium is responsible for setting the international standards for characters - like emoji - across different software platforms, like iOS and Android. The latest batch of emoji will hit smartphone keyboards once Unicode 8.0 is released in the middle of this year.
Redheads are also not the only group that feels marginalized. As Rhik Samadder at The Guardian notes, there is still no emoji representation for those with beards or afros.
- Should you be worried about the potential side-effects of the Covishield vaccine?
- India T20 World Cup squad: KulCha back on menu, KL Rahul dropped
- Sales of homes priced over ₹4 crore rise 10% in Jan-Mar in top 7 cities: CBRE
- Gold prices fluctuate as geopolitical tensions ease; US Fed meeting, payroll data to affect prices this week
- Best beaches to visit in Goa in 2024