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. 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.