handshake: dark skin tone, medium-dark skin tone
Unicode: 1FAF1 1F3FF 200D 1FAF2 1F3FE
Description
A dark-skinned person (formed by combining a person emoji with a dark skin tone modifier) and a darker-skinned person (formed by combining another person emoji with a darker skin tone modifier) holding hands. This represents a couple or two individuals in a relationship or close bond.
Group:
People & Body > hands
Status:
fully-qualified
Emotion:
Represents love, partnership, unity, support, affection, and togetherness between two individuals. The different skin tones suggest diversity and inclusivity in relationships.
Backstory
This specific combination of person emojis with skin tone modifiers and the zero width joiner (ZWJ) signifies a 'gender-inclusive' or 'diverse' couple. Variations of 'people holding hands' emojis have been part of Unicode since earlier versions, with more diverse skin tone combinations becoming available with Unicode 6.0 and later, along with ZWJ sequences to combine them into complex emojis.
Usage Examples
- Celebrating an anniversary: 'Happy anniversary to us! 🧑🏿🤝🧑🏾'
- Expressing support to a friend: 'Always here for you! 🧑🏿🤝🧑🏾'
- Showing love for a diverse couple: 'Love seeing these two together! 🧑🏿🤝🧑🏾'
- Indicating partnership or collaboration: 'Working together to achieve our goals! 🧑🏿🤝🧑🏾'
Cultural Differences
Western culture:
Commonly used to signify romantic relationships, friendship, or family bonds, emphasizing connection and support.
East Asian culture:
Similar usage to Western culture, often used to express affection in romantic contexts or close friendships, sometimes less overtly romantic and more about companionship.