A new “Pushing Hand” gesture that looks like a high-five is on the shortlist of potential new emojis to be released later this year. Also included: a shaking face, a knob of ginger, and a hair pick for styling textured locks.
Emojipedia, a popular emoji reference site, released sample images on Wednesday for more than a dozen new emojis that have been submitted for approval to the Unicode Consortium, the non-profit that oversees global emoji standards and new releases.
The draft list also includes maracas, a long-awaited pink heart, and a Khanda, a traditional symbol of the Sikh faith. The possible additions come as pressure has mounted in recent years for emojis to be more inclusive.
“While some might not make the cut, most presented for approval are historically confirmed,” Keith Broni, the editor-in-chief of Emojipedia, said in a blog post accompanying the new images, which were released ahead of World Emoji Day this Sunday.
Final approval by Unicode is set to take place in September. The emoji would then be released as software updates to major platforms from late 2022 into 2023.
Broni emphasized that the images released by Emojipedia are previews and subject to change or final approvals, but he said every emoji the group previewed last year — such as the pregnant man — ended up being included in the final roll out.
The new options come as emoji use on Twitter is at record-high levels, according to an analysis released by Emojipedia. Its data indicated that emoji use this month and last month was at “the highest instances of emojis-per-tweet since our records begin in July of 2011.”
