open hands: light skin tone
Unicode: 1F450 1F3FB
Description
An open hand, often depicted with fingers spread, revealing the palm, with a light skin tone. It represents an open gesture, such as waving or offering.
Group:
People & Body > hands
Status:
fully-qualified
Emotion:
Neutral to positive. Can express a friendly greeting, a request for 'stop' or 'wait', or an open, honest gesture. The light skin tone specifically refers to the Fitzpatrick scale type 1 or 2.
Backstory
The 'Waving Hand' emoji (✋) was approved as part of Unicode 6.0 in 2010. The different skin tone modifiers (like 1F3FB for light skin tone) were added with Unicode 8.0 in 2015, allowing for greater representation and personalization of emoji.
Usage Examples
- Waving hello or goodbye: 'Hello! 👋🏻'
- Requesting to stop or wait: 'Please wait, I'm coming! 👋🏻'
- Answering a question in class (raising hand): 'Me! 👋🏻'
- Indicating an open, honest gesture: 'I'm being completely open with you. 👋🏻'
Cultural Differences
Western culture:
Commonly used for waving goodbye or hello, or as a symbol for 'stop' or 'hold on'. Can also indicate an open, welcoming gesture.
East Asian culture:
Similar uses for waving. In some contexts, an open palm can signify rejection or 'no entry', though less common than in other regions.