Two new emoji – 'pregnant man' and a gender neutral 'pregnant person' – are among those coming to smartphones later this year, it has been confirmed.
The Unicode Consortium, the central bank of all approved emoji, has officially signed off candidates for the next emoji release, version 14.0.
The pregnant man and pregnant person recognise that 'pregnancy is possible for some transgender men and non-binary people', Emojipedia, a voting member of the Unicode Consortium says.
Men get pregnant in both real life and in fiction, Emojipedia claims, like Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1994 film 'Junior'.
Guidelines to use the term 'pregnant person' instead of 'pregnant woman' – as issued by the British Medical Association in 2017, in an attempt to recognise trans and non-binary people – were at the time called 'an insult to women'.
'Pregnant man' and 'pregnant person' emoji could also be used as 'a tongue-in-cheek way to display a food baby, a very full stomach caused by eating a large meal
Now, emoji users have flocked to Twitter to share their displeasure of the new 'gender inclusive' emoji.
Twitter user @doggerinos said: 'I could probably count on one hand the number of people who asked for a pregnant man emoji.
'I’m not trying to hate on trans people or anything, I’m just wondering who tf is gonna use that?!'
Another user, @libertythot_, called the emoji and everyone who uses it 'stupid'.
Meanwhile, @ErnstRoets said: 'Someone told me they're making an emoji of a pregnant man. I thought it was a joke, only to discover that it really is to be released soon.'
On the other hand, @pibesson said a pregnant man emoji was 'sorely missing' and the lack of it until now a 'gross oversight' from the Unicode Consortium.
Jane Solomon, Emojipedia's 'senior emoji lexicographer', outlined the new emojis in a blog post entitled 'Why is there a pregnant man emoji?'
'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 said.
Twitter user @doggerinos said : 'I could probably count on one hand the number of people who asked for a pregnant man emoji'
ErnstRoets said he though a pregnant man emoji was just a joke. The new pregnancy options may be used for representation by trans men, non-binary people, or women with short hair
'Men can be pregnant. This applies to the real world (e.g., trans men) and to fictional universes (e.g., Arnold Schwarzenegger in [1994 film] "Junior".
'People of any gender can be pregnant too. Now there are emojis to represent this.'
For now, Unicode is keeping the more conventional 'pregnant woman' emoji, which has been an emoji since 2016.
From left, Danny Devito, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Emma Thompson appear in the 1994 film 'Junior'
Emojipedia argues that men get pregnant in both real life and in fiction, citing the film as as example
Solomon also said the two
