Tinder Is One Step Closer To Making Interracial Couple Emojis A Reality

I'm brown and my boyfriend is pretty much as white as it gets. I'm lucky that the society we live in doesn't make me feel like this is abnormal in the same way that it may have a few years ago. That being said, there's one place where I'm constantly reminded that society may not expect couples to look like us: my emoji keyboard. For those of you who are unfamiliar, all of the couple emojis feature same-race couples, but hopefully, that's about to change. Why? Well, because Tinder wants to create interracial couple emojis... and it looks like they're actually going to make it happen.

After results of a study showed that their app may have led to an increased number of interracial marriages, Tinder did a follow-up study to better understand how their users felt about interracial relationships. They found that 77 percent of their users say they're "very open-minded" when it comes to dating someone of a different race.

“As a result, we were inspired to be at the forefront of creating change,” Tinder stated in a press release. “We want to foster an inclusive and diverse community of people on our platform that supports each other, no matter what our similarities or differences are.”

As part of that initiative, the folks over at Tinder decided it was definitely time to make some changes so that our emoji keyboards could accurately reflect every sort of love.

For the first step of what they're calling the "Interracial Couple Emoji Project," Tinder asked people to sign their petition on Change.org. "It’s time for an Interracial Couple Emoji," the petition page says. "But keep in mind; it can take up to two years for a proposed emoji to complete the review, approval and standardization process. So sign the petition today!"

Since the petition began six months ago, more than 50,000 people have signed it. And now, there's a major update: Tinder's proposal to create new interracial emoji couples has officially passed the first round of voting with unanimous votes! In order to turn this proposal into a reality, it needs to pass through the Unicode Consortium, which is the governing body that oversees all things emoji.

That means that the proposal is one step closer to the finish line in January, when it will go up for final approval by the Unicode Consortium. If it passes, the emojis will become a reality.

"If implemented, the new emojis will comprise five skin tone options for both mixed-gender and same-gender couples," a Tinder rep told Elite Daily. Yay for inclusion and representation! The new range of emojis would open doors for so many couples to celebrate exactly who they are.

Check out how you can do your part to make it happen here.

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