vulcan salute: light skin tone
Unicode: 1F596 1F3FB
Description
A hand with its thumb, index finger, and pinky finger extended, while the middle and ring fingers are closed into the palm. It has a light skin tone.
Group:
People & Body > hand-fingers-open
Status:
fully-qualified
Emotion:
Represents 'I love you' in American Sign Language (ASL). It conveys affection, love, or personal gratitude. It can also be used playfully.
Backstory
This emoji was originally intended to represent the 'I love you' sign in American Sign Language (ASL). It was approved as part of Unicode 10.0 in 2017. The design captures the specific configuration of the thumb, index, and pinky finger being extended, while the other two are curled. Its inclusion aimed to provide an emoji for expressing love in a different, more specific way than the red heart.
Usage Examples
- Expressing love or affection: 'I love you all! 🤘🏻❤️'
- Showing appreciation: 'Thanks for the gift! 🤘🏻'
- Saying goodbye affectionately: 'See you later! 🤘🏻'
- In response to good news: 'That sounds amazing! 🤘🏻'
Cultural Differences
Western culture:
Widely recognized as the ASL sign for 'I love you' and used to express general affection, appreciation, or friendship.
East Asian culture:
While the specific meaning might be less universally known compared to Western cultures, it can still be understood in contexts where ASL or global internet culture is influential. Sometimes mistaken for 'devil horns' or 'rock and roll' sign if not accompanied by context, especially in older generations.
Other cultures:
In some cultures, similar hand gestures might have different or even offensive meanings, so contextual awareness is important, but its primary ASL meaning is globally recognized due to internet adoption.