An inclusive society needs inclusive emojis
People with disabilities should be presented as a natural part of society. Pro Infirmis is launching its own emoji edition because Unicode does not go far enough with the just launched 13th extension of its emoji character set.
Among the 230 new emojis, there are those that depict disability, but the depiction is primarily limited to disabilities with assistive devices such as a wheelchair or a cane for the blind. However, people with disabilities cannot be reduced to aids such as hearing aids or prostheses, but should be portrayed as people who participate in everyday life and belong to society as a matter of course: They dance and eat, travel and laugh, love and cry, just like all other people. The emoji world must depict this accordingly.
Pro Infirmis and the CRK agency are therefore launching existing and popular emojis with disabilities. Then the user can not only determine the skin color, but also whether the emoji should be displayed with or without a disability. With its proposed emojis, Unicode cements existing differences and prejudices instead of overcoming them.
In order for people with disabilities to become visible as a natural part of society, an emoji edition must take this into account. Therefore, for example, there is an emoji with a disability that is additionally hindered by external circumstances. Because people with disabilities encounter many obstacles in their everyday lives, and Pro Infirmis and CRK want to raise awareness of this.
