There’s a Period Emoji on iOS But Bloody Hell It Took Two Years

It’s just an emoji, right? But did you know that creating the period emoji took almost two years’ worth of effort!

Here’s the thing iOS users – your phones now have a period emoji.

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It might not seem like a big deal at first, but it took almost two years to get this tiny emoji to your screens, according to a report in the Grazia.

Yes, that is how much time it took to campaign, conduct an online vote, and collaborate with the NHS Blood campaign to get the proposed emoji approved.

Even then, it wasn’t easy.

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The most popular choice for the period emoji was actually a pair of pants stained by blood, but it wasn’t accepted by the Unicode Consortium – the organisation that decides which emojis will become part of the emojiverse, reported Sky News.

After it was rejected, Plan International UK, a women’s rights charity that had pushed to adopt the period emoji, opted for the second-most voted design of their online vote in 2017 i.e. the blood drop, according to the BBC. It then teamed up with NHS to take it forward.

Better late than never, but will a period emoji help fight the stigma over menstruation? Opinion is divided.

I feel like there are better ways than a #PeriodEmoji to remove the stigma against menstruation but go off I guess?

— Kurokosworth✨ (@Kurokosworth) February 6, 2019

The period emoji is officially happening. It might not seem like it's a big deal, but it is. The stigma & shame surrounding menstruation can have a damaging effect on girls' lives. An emoji won't solve the issue, but it will start a conversation https://t.co/hfBiPpf4wp @PlanUK pic.twitter.com/gjYYsjjn3L

— Rachel Thompson (@RVT9) February 6, 2019

If we’re ovary-reacting about the #PeriodEmoji it’s because we’re excited for the many women, trans folks & non-binary people who want to combat shame surrounding periods.
We hope this will encourage more conversations around this completely normal topic. https://t.co/HNCimrjoeZ

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) February 6, 2019

There might still be a long way to go until all we see the shame around menstruation disappear globally, but this seems like a click in the right direction.https://t.co/qy9ggMCQ2t

— MISS VOGUE (@MissVogueUK) February 6, 2019

What do you think about the emoji?

(With inputs from Grazia, BBC and Sky News)