Here’s How Emoji Are About To Become More Inclusive

Emoji are set to become even cooler and more inclusive in 2017. Unicode, the body which sets global norms for computer characters, has just approved 56 new emoji including a "person with headscarf" or hijab emoji. A joint recommendation from five emoji fans argued that the addition of the hijab character would strike a further blow for emoji diversity. "Islam, Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Christianity and Catholicism all have something in common: the significance of the headscarf or head covering as a demonstration of piousness," they wrote in their proposal. Unicode has also approved a breastfeeding emoji following a recommendation from London nurse Rachel Lee. In her proposal, Lee wrote that "the lack of a breastfeeding emoji represents a gap in the Unicode Standard given the prevalence of breastfeeding in cultures around the world, and throughout history." Three new emoji designed to have "no specific gender" have been approved, too: a gender-neutral child, a gender-neutral adult, and a gender-neutral older adult. Other newly-approved emoji are pure fun: there's a mermaid, a fairy, a vampire, a face wearing a monocle and even a hipster-looking "bearded person" emoji. New food emoji on their way include a pretzel, a pie and - just in time for the Pret Christmas sarnie - a sandwich. The newly-approved emoji will be rolled out in mid-2017, Gizmodo reports - bring 'em on.