The story behind the emoji menstruation that cell phones will have

A few months ago, we learned that the consortium Unicode had incorporated the emoji Matte icon. This news has generated joy among many members of the national infusion. However, this week, the most disturbing design that will be integrated in 2019 has been WhatsApp and other networks and messaging services: a drop of blood that represents menstruation.

In total, there are 230 new icons that mobile phone users will need to embed in messages sent to their contacts. They appear, among them, a flamenco, a planet with rings and hearts more colorful.

As for the emoji that refer to menstruation, NGO Plan International, who launched the campaign to introduce it, said: "It's a step closer to breaking the existing taboo around the "rule" in many societies"

Ahre and the emoji

Plan International is present in 75 countries and seeks to guarantee the rights of children and the equality of girls. In 2017, he launched a proposal on Facebook, inviting him to vote among five models to choose the mode of representation of menstruation on the emoji keyboard, then to propose the winner to Unicode, the consortium responsible for standardization of these drawings.

The companion emoji has been approved and will be available this year on all mobile phones in the world.

More than 54,000 users have paid for an icon in which a panties with a drop of blood. However, that one the design was rejected by Unicode. After that, the design was proposed from a red drop, that it was approved by the consortium and that it will be part of the emoji universe from March 2019.

According to data developed by Plan International, half of young women ages 18 to 34 would find it easier to talk with their partner at the time if they had an icon for it.

"Emoji are today our universal language and, as such, it makes sense to use them to make the rule stop being the taboo that still remains in the world, although 800 million women and girls are currently. In Africa, one in ten girls miss school for several days because of the rule. And stigma, lack of access to products or sanitation are often reasons for dropping out of school, "he told the ABC newspaper in Madrid. Emilia Sánchez, director of the political impact of Plan International.

JPA