selfie: medium skin tone
Unicode: 1F933 1F3FD
Description
A person, depicted as male or gender-neutral, giving a shaka sign (hand with thumb and pinky extended, fingers curled). The skin tone is medium.
Group:
People & Body > hand-prop
Status:
fully-qualified
Emotion:
Typically used to express 'hang loose', 'cool', 'chill', 'bro', or solidarity, often associated with surfing culture and a laid-back attitude.
Backstory
The shaka sign itself has a complex origin story, most commonly attributed to Hamana Kalili of Laie, Hawaii, who lost his middle fingers in a sugar mill accident in the early 20th century, and began waving with his thumb and pinky. It was later popularized by local children mimicking him, then by surfer culture. The person with shaka sign emoji was introduced in Unicode 9.0 (2016) and later updated with skin tone variations.
Usage Examples
- Greeting a friend: 'Hey, dude! 🤙🏽'
- Expressing agreement or understanding: 'Got it! 🤙🏽'
- Celebrating a laid-back moment: 'Beach day vibes! 🤙🏽'
- Showing support for surf culture: 'Surf's up! 🤙🏽'
Cultural Differences
Hawaii:
The 'shaka' sign originated in Hawaii and is a common greeting or gesture of goodwill, friendship, understanding, and courage. It means 'hang loose,' 'all right,' 'cool,' or 'thank you.'
Brazil:
Used as a common greeting or gesture of friendship and brotherhood, similar to Hawaii's usage.
Surf Culture (worldwide):
Internationally recognized within the surfing community as a symbol of unity, a relaxed lifestyle, and a greeting.
Other cultures:
May be misinterpreted as a phone call gesture (similar to the 'call me' gesture) in some regions if not familiar with its primary cultural context.