Introduction
As news broke about redhead emojis being available on iMessage, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger, many curly girls and women celebrated. However, some questioned if these new emojis truly represented natural hairstyles. Let’s explore this further.
Representation in Emojis
Emojis have become a popular means of communication and self-expression. While most emojis depict people with straight hair, adding red, gray, and naturally textured locks allows for more inclusivity. Emojipedia founder Jeremy Burge stated that redhead emojis have been highly requested, but specific shades may still need to be identified before release.
Dove Love Your Curls Emojis
Dove Hair introduced the first emoji keyboard explicitly designed to represent curly locks. The Love, Your Curls Emojis, are accessible across various text messaging apps and come in different skin tones and hues. This emoji keyboard aims to address the fact that one in three women and girls have curly hair, yet most emojis depict them with straight hair or not at all.
Disparity in Representation
While the approval of emojis featuring red hair and natural textures was seen as a victory for curlies worldwide, the final release has raised concerns about accurately representing real-life beauty. However, Dove hair has made progress by adding 27 curly hair designs, seven GIFs to their emoji keyboard, and selectable skin tones and hair colors.
Limitations and Excitement
While the Love Your Curls Emojis offer a step towards inclusivity, some feel that adding blond and dark brown hair options would better represent the diversity of the natural redhead population. Despite this limitation, the app remains engaging and exciting to use.
Elf Emoji
For those with exceptionally curly hair, the elf emoji may be perfect. Included in Unicode 11.0 in 2018, this emoji, featuring long, curly locks, are named after characters from Tolkien’s Middle-earth, such as Arwen or Arwyn, Celebrimbor, and Elrond. It adds further representation of curly-haired individuals.
