Apple has launched an initial beta of the iOS 15.4 software that includes many of the features that were rumored to be coming however the addition of a basic emoji is creating controversy.
The most recent iPhone software update lets users unlock their phones using FaceID when wearing masks to the very first time however, it’s been overlooked in the wake of the reactions to the brand new pregnant man emoticon.
A woman’s group has decried the image in the name of “madness”, while prominent members of the Republican Party in the United States have also mocked the concept.
Concerned women for America The group, known as “nation’s largest public policy women’s organisation” and sent a tweet to Apple’s management about the emoticons.
“Follow the science, it is literally impossible for a man to be pregnant. Stop your emoji madness,” the message reads.
“Instead, can we celebrate the uniqueness of men and women? God’s grand design is beautiful!”
“In the real world, men can very easily get pregnant if they don’t take proper precaution,” Carlson tweeted.
“Watch out, guys. It could happen to you. Apple’s new iPhone update includes a reminder of this: A pregnant man emoji.”
Representative Lauren Boebert suggested those who were in favor of Joe Rogan to face consequences for his involvement in spreading misinformation about COVID-19 were the same people who backed Apple’s decision.
“I just can’t,” she tweeted.
The pregnant man emoji first announced in September of this year. Jane Solomon, Emojipedia’s senior lexicographer of emojis, explaining the reason it was designed to create an emoji keyboard that was “more consistent and gender inclusive”.
“The new pregnancy options may be used for representation by trans men, non-binary people, or women with short hair – though, of course, use of these emojis is not limited to these groups,” she wrote.
Consistency was needed to ensure backward compatibility of Emojis and to ensure there weren’t “divergent interpretations” of them by designers, she explained.
Also, there’s a new pregnant woman emoji, which will be paired with the man who is pregnant and pregnant woman Emojis.
In a letter that she is the chairperson of the Unicode Emoji subcommittee, which is responsible for the standards for emojis – Jennifer Daniel said the organisation is shifting towards more descriptive and less descriptive names for the emoji.
“If the existing ‘pregnant woman’ had been named ‘woman with swollen belly’ these new emojis would’ve followed suit. However, a precedent was set and now pregnant people are at your fingertips – unsexing pregnancy and embracing the vibe of eating too many tacos,” she wrote.
While there’s been some backlash from triggered conservatives, a lot of users have expressed support for Apple’s inclusive Emojis.
“Apple is merely implementing symbols added to Unicode last year,” one user wrote.
“The claim that the addition of emoji ‘person with crown’ or ‘pregnant person’ or ‘pregnant man’ is a sign of a failure of competition or ideas is laughable. Conservatives are just mad everyone doesn’t agree with them,” they tweeted.
“So you want the government to ban a pregnant man emoji. Am I understanding you correctly here?” Another writer wrote.
The latest version of Apple’s iOS 15.4 is now available to all users who want to test the software in a beta. The software will be released the pregnant man emoji and the entire emoji for all iOS users on an unknown date later in the year.
The latest version of the application includes 37 new emojis total. They include melting faces and heart hands, a kissing lips and handshakes that have distinct skin tones.
