oncoming fist: medium-dark skin tone
Unicode: 1F44A 1F3FE
Description
A raised right fist, with the skin tone modifier indicating a dark skin tone. It typically faces left.
Group:
People & Body > hand-fingers-closed
Status:
fully-qualified
Emotion:
Represents power, strength, solidarity, determination, or protest. The dark skin tone modifier specifically highlights black empowerment, Black Lives Matter, or solidarity with people of color.
Backstory
The 'Raised Fist' emoji (✊) was approved as part of Unicode 6.0 in 2010. The skin tone modifiers, including 'Emoji Modifier Fitzpatrick Type-5' (1F3FE), were added in Unicode 8.0 in 2015 to allow for more diverse representation of human emojis, recognizing the importance of skin color in digital communication, especially for politically charged symbols.
Usage Examples
- Expressing solidarity: 'Black Lives Matter ✊🏾'
- Showing determination: 'We will overcome this challenge ✊🏾'
- Celebrating strength: 'Powerful performance! ✊🏾'
- Supporting a cause: 'Standing with you all the way ✊🏾'
Cultural Differences
Western culture:
Widely recognized as a symbol of protest, solidarity, and black power, especially in the context of civil rights movements and social justice causes (e.g., Black Lives Matter).
East Asian culture:
Less commonly used in a protest context, sometimes seen as a symbol of 'victory' or 'good job,' but the skin tone modifier still carries its specific meaning in global communication.