index pointing up: dark skin tone
Unicode: 261D 1F3FF
Description
A pointing index finger from the right hand, pointing upwards, with a dark skin tone modifier.
Group:
People & Body > hand-single-finger
Status:
fully-qualified
Emotion:
Typically used to draw attention to something, indicate direction, emphasize a point, or represent 'up' or 'look up'. The dark skin tone modifier specifies the skin color of the hand.
Backstory
The 'White Up Pointing Index' (261D) was part of Unicode 4.0 (2003). The skin tone modifiers (1F3FF for dark skin tone) were introduced in Unicode 8.0 (2015) to allow for greater diversity and representation of human skin tones in emojis, following the Fitzpatrick scale.
Usage Examples
- Highlighting text: 'Read this part! ☝🏿'
- Indicating direction: 'It's up there! ☝🏿'
- Agreeing with a statement: 'Exactly! ☝🏿'
- Referring to something above: 'Look at the sky! ☝🏿'
Cultural Differences
Western culture:
Commonly used for highlighting, agreements ('this!'), or indicating a specific item or direction. Also used in voting or raising hands.
East Asian culture:
Similar usage to Western culture. Can sometimes be interpreted as authoritative or demanding depending on context, though generally positive.
General:
The skin tone modifier makes it more inclusive and representative of diverse users.