Do you need vulva emoji? Or do you want to keep typing ({|})?
October 15, 2015 7:35 PM Subscribe
Feministing has done an article on Flirtmoji's recent release of 15 vulva emoji, realistically asymmetrical and in a variety of pleasant colors.
Designer Katy McCarthy did an interview on her work on these sexually explicit emoji and the necessity of inclusivity.
I'm just assuming there already were phalli emoji?
N.B., I really don't want to know, or see them.
posted by yhbc at 8:10 PM on October 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
N.B., I really don't want to know, or see them.
posted by yhbc at 8:10 PM on October 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
They are pretty, but a few of them are more abstract than figurative.
posted by Dip Flash at 8:21 PM on October 15, 2015
posted by Dip Flash at 8:21 PM on October 15, 2015
like a Sesame Street muppet
It's funny you say that because when I look at C3 I can only see the Swedish Chef.
posted by phunniemee at 8:30 PM on October 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
It's funny you say that because when I look at C3 I can only see the Swedish Chef.
posted by phunniemee at 8:30 PM on October 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
Is the green one for talking about Orion girls? (Or talking to them, or something? Honestly, I can't remember a conversation where I needed a convenient shorthand for talking about someone's vulva.)
posted by spacewrench at 8:34 PM on October 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by spacewrench at 8:34 PM on October 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
Honestly, I can't remember a conversation where I needed a convenient shorthand for talking about someone's vulva.
The subject comes up more often when you have one.
posted by phunniemee at 8:37 PM on October 15, 2015 [15 favorites]
The subject comes up more often when you have one.
posted by phunniemee at 8:37 PM on October 15, 2015 [15 favorites]
Currently you have to go with }|{ or }!{ , that's what I usually use. (I mean mostly when I know my husband is in a serious meeting and I want to make him blush for no reason.)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:48 PM on October 15, 2015 [18 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:48 PM on October 15, 2015 [18 favorites]
The subject comes up more often when you have one.
Fair enough. I haven't had all that many conversations where I needed a convenient shorthand for talking about men's genitals either, but that's no reason not to have emojis for them, I guess. Nobody's forcing me to use them.
posted by spacewrench at 9:03 PM on October 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
Fair enough. I haven't had all that many conversations where I needed a convenient shorthand for talking about men's genitals either, but that's no reason not to have emojis for them, I guess. Nobody's forcing me to use them.
posted by spacewrench at 9:03 PM on October 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
Why won't they release the ones done in unpleasant colors? Some of us have more complex stories to tell
posted by clockzero at 9:06 PM on October 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by clockzero at 9:06 PM on October 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
That's a rhetorical question, right?
posted by OverlappingElvis at 9:20 PM on October 15, 2015
posted by OverlappingElvis at 9:20 PM on October 15, 2015
I dunno, somehow I feel like creating explicit emoji is going too far. Putting pictures of either type of genitals into a message feels kinda crass. And this is coming from someone who will wave her titties around at the slightest provocation.
My circles tend to use either 🐛 or 🍆 for a phallus. Haven't really seen any consensus on which emoji is best for a vulva; 🌷 is the best one I can find on OSX offhand. Maybe.
posted by egypturnash at 9:49 PM on October 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
My circles tend to use either 🐛 or 🍆 for a phallus. Haven't really seen any consensus on which emoji is best for a vulva; 🌷 is the best one I can find on OSX offhand. Maybe.
posted by egypturnash at 9:49 PM on October 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
I know the eggplant emoji is for a phallus, because I have had far more opportunity to discuss the peen in texts over discussing eggplant.
posted by JLovebomb at 10:11 PM on October 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by JLovebomb at 10:11 PM on October 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'm certain I've actually had more text/chat conversations about eggplant than penii, so I'm pretty sure that would be a very weird conversation on both ends if it came up without adequate explanation.
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 11:46 PM on October 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 11:46 PM on October 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
Why won't they release the ones done in unpleasant colors? Some of us have more complex stories to tell
Maybe we need a vagina dentata emoji too. I suspect it would be used to represent all of the boss monsters in roguelikes.
posted by XMLicious at 1:02 AM on October 16, 2015 [3 favorites]
I first read that as "Kevin McCarthy" and was really puzzled for a bit.
posted by persona au gratin at 2:04 AM on October 16, 2015
posted by persona au gratin at 2:04 AM on October 16, 2015
Emperor SnooKloze: "I'm certain I've actually had more text/chat conversations about eggplant than penii, so I'm pretty sure that would be a very weird conversation on both ends if it came up without adequate explanation."
I see the various things you did there.
posted by chavenet at 3:53 AM on October 16, 2015 [2 favorites]
I see the various things you did there.
posted by chavenet at 3:53 AM on October 16, 2015 [2 favorites]
Interesting to read their FAQ, and this shows there will always be demand for emoji the Unicode commission, Apple, Google, Samsung, et al won't be eager to include.
Some kind of support for inline svg in text messages is probably the best solution. Let people save/bookmark their own SVGs of choice, and include those in their texts. They'll display better than pngs, but application support is the problem.
I'm assuming this solution would also compress the SVGs and use some kind of larger text message, but those 18kb pngs would also overfill a 160-character SMS in Base64.
posted by mccarty.tim at 3:54 AM on October 16, 2015
Some kind of support for inline svg in text messages is probably the best solution. Let people save/bookmark their own SVGs of choice, and include those in their texts. They'll display better than pngs, but application support is the problem.
I'm assuming this solution would also compress the SVGs and use some kind of larger text message, but those 18kb pngs would also overfill a 160-character SMS in Base64.
posted by mccarty.tim at 3:54 AM on October 16, 2015
A side by side.
And now I'm imagining a vulva singing "bork! bork! bork!"
posted by JDHarper at 4:51 AM on October 16, 2015 [2 favorites]
And now I'm imagining a vulva singing "bork! bork! bork!"
posted by JDHarper at 4:51 AM on October 16, 2015 [2 favorites]
And now I'm imagining a vulva singing "bork! bork! bork!"
Until this moment I didn't think I had any unusual fetishes.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 5:06 AM on October 16, 2015 [7 favorites]
Until this moment I didn't think I had any unusual fetishes.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 5:06 AM on October 16, 2015 [7 favorites]
The blue one is my favorite. It's so goddamn cheerful, like a Sesame Street muppet if there was a Very Special Episode on genitals.
You've got me really looking forward to the rest of the season of the new Muppets show.
posted by scalefree at 6:08 AM on October 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
You've got me really looking forward to the rest of the season of the new Muppets show.
posted by scalefree at 6:08 AM on October 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
I feel really, really old after reading this thread.
Because I'm not sure why anyone would need any emojis for sexual organs. I've never sent or received a text that made reference to P or V so on. I'm not sure why I would want to.
But then . . . I only learned what emojis were about a month ago, after Googling it.
So, yeah, I'm 41, and I'm old, and I admit it.
posted by Annabelle74 at 6:26 AM on October 16, 2015 [7 favorites]
Because I'm not sure why anyone would need any emojis for sexual organs. I've never sent or received a text that made reference to P or V so on. I'm not sure why I would want to.
But then . . . I only learned what emojis were about a month ago, after Googling it.
So, yeah, I'm 41, and I'm old, and I admit it.
posted by Annabelle74 at 6:26 AM on October 16, 2015 [7 favorites]
These are so cute! And playful! It could have been done tastelessly, but I love these and would totally use them.
posted by fiercecupcake at 6:34 AM on October 16, 2015
posted by fiercecupcake at 6:34 AM on October 16, 2015
I don't really have much reason in my day-to-day life for genital emoji, either, but I can conceive of a world that "needs" them. Like a way for women to engage in flirty sexting that doesn't require sending an actual picture of themselves which could very easily be shared, hacked, or maliciously posted somewhere opening themselves up to all kinds of abuse and attack and personal (and professional) consequences.
posted by phunniemee at 6:38 AM on October 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by phunniemee at 6:38 AM on October 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
Because I'm not sure why anyone would need any emojis for sexual organs
In the interview link there's pictured an emoji consisting of a dildo attached to a drill. So, the vulva emojis are pretty light by comparison. I dunno about you guys, but when I'm sexting and I don't have a lot of time, like if I'm at a stoplight or in a parent's advisory committee meeting, I need shortcuts. Let's just say that I'm really glad it was Katy McCarthy doing these instead of Cormac McCarthy.
"You want to do what to a dead horse? I'm sorry, why is this hobo flasher involved? No I don't want to join itinerant farmers in a gang bang!"
posted by jimmythefish at 6:54 AM on October 16, 2015
In the interview link there's pictured an emoji consisting of a dildo attached to a drill. So, the vulva emojis are pretty light by comparison. I dunno about you guys, but when I'm sexting and I don't have a lot of time, like if I'm at a stoplight or in a parent's advisory committee meeting, I need shortcuts. Let's just say that I'm really glad it was Katy McCarthy doing these instead of Cormac McCarthy.
"You want to do what to a dead horse? I'm sorry, why is this hobo flasher involved? No I don't want to join itinerant farmers in a gang bang!"
posted by jimmythefish at 6:54 AM on October 16, 2015
I have needed or wanted or even faintly considered emoji of genitals. To be honest, I rarely use any emoji, but, even so. I'm pretty sure that any emoji depicting women's bodies will be used as porn, men's too, and any sexually explicit graphics will be used in a harassing way. So, yay, and all that.
posted by theora55 at 7:25 AM on October 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by theora55 at 7:25 AM on October 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
I like number 10 (left to right, top to bottom) because it looks something sorta kinda like Jesus's space alien mom with the flowing robes and the glowing ET heart. Vergin' Mary?
posted by pracowity at 9:31 AM on October 16, 2015
posted by pracowity at 9:31 AM on October 16, 2015
I'm really glad it was Katy McCarthy doing these instead of Cormac McCarthy.Oh dogs, can we please have a "Cormac McCarthy-inspired genitalia emoji" competition? I could use an hour of painful belly laughing.
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 10:08 AM on October 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
I always just used the peach emoji. I thought everyone did?
posted by panama joe at 10:40 AM on October 16, 2015
posted by panama joe at 10:40 AM on October 16, 2015
Everyone knows that peach is shorthand for butt!
🍑💨
posted by Omnomnom at 11:16 AM on October 16, 2015
🍑💨
posted by Omnomnom at 11:16 AM on October 16, 2015
So it turns out some of these vulva emoji were "inadvertently" plagiarized.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 11:33 AM on October 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 11:33 AM on October 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
The second link in the FPP does not feature any vulva emoji. Is that different from when this post was made?
posted by mistersquid at 11:41 AM on October 16, 2015
posted by mistersquid at 11:41 AM on October 16, 2015
Mr. Encyclopedia:
In fact, one of the reasons Tobey was able to identify the art is because one of the vulvas that Flirtmoji produced is a reproduction of Tobey's own anatomy. a
Ouch.
posted by Omnomnom at 11:47 AM on October 16, 2015
In fact, one of the reasons Tobey was able to identify the art is because one of the vulvas that Flirtmoji produced is a reproduction of Tobey's own anatomy. a
Ouch.
posted by Omnomnom at 11:47 AM on October 16, 2015
Plagiarized vaginas. Now I've seen it all.
posted by scalefree at 11:56 AM on October 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by scalefree at 11:56 AM on October 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
'inadvertently': I don't think that word means what he thinks it means.
posted by el io at 4:17 PM on October 16, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by el io at 4:17 PM on October 16, 2015 [2 favorites]
Inadvertently caught.
posted by scalefree at 4:29 PM on October 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by scalefree at 4:29 PM on October 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
The seed was planted:....peachfish and huge thumbs.
I should have seen it coming.
posted by mule98J at 9:52 AM on October 17, 2015
I should have seen it coming.
posted by mule98J at 9:52 AM on October 17, 2015
I was closing out ancient tabs when I came across the vulva emoji backlash and it struck me now like it didn't at first: what a weird frickin' 21st century problem. Vulvappropriation. Not even representations of one's own genderparts are safe from appropriation.
Sci-fi writers didn't have a clue, man, didn't have a clue..
posted by Ogre Lawless at 6:50 PM on October 20, 2015
Sci-fi writers didn't have a clue, man, didn't have a clue..
posted by Ogre Lawless at 6:50 PM on October 20, 2015
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