'Period blood' emoji aims to destigmatize menstruation

A collection of more than 200 new emojis, including symbols for guide dogs, interracial couples and period blood, will be part of the new batch of Unicode Consortium’s update later this year. (Unicode)

Blood drops for women’s periods, guide dogs, interracial couples, people in wheelchairs and the so-called “pinching hand” are all among the new crop of emojis being rolled out later this year.

In total, 230 new emojis are slated to appear in device keyboards starting as early as March, though most users will have to wait until the fall.

The Unicode Consortium -- the California-based, non-profit group that manages global emoji standards -- announced its latest update this week.

“The new emoji typically start showing up on mobile phones in September/October -- some platforms may release them earlier," the group wrote in a blogpost.

They highlighted the 59 new emoji, as well as 171 skin tone and gender variants, to show a push for more inclusion.

Users will now be able to better customize couples and hand-holding emojis, as well as express a wider range of races and gender identities.

The new emojis -- as part of Unicode 12.0 update -- also included accessibility-themed ones: prosthetic limbs, people in wheelchairs, hearing aids and deaf persons.

There’s a buzz online about the new “blood drop” emoji, which some groups hope will go a long way towards normalizing women’s periods.

The menstruation-themed emoji’s inclusion followed a campaign from the global girls' rights charity Plan International UK – a non-profit group which describes itself as striving to advance children's rights and equality for girls across the world.

It boasted about the blood drop’s inclusion on Twitter. They hope the period emoji will help to cut down on the stigma around menstruation.

People online have also taken notice of the so-called “pinching hand” symbol, instigating a debate over what it signifies. Many users on Twitter have suggested that the emoji refers to mocking a male’s small genitals.

Other new emojis included a yawning face, a Hindu temple, a waffle, an otter, a flamingo, an ice cube and a ringed planet.