person: medium-light skin tone
Unicode: 1F9D1 1F3FC
Description
A person emoji combined with a medium-light skin tone modifier. The base person emoji (1F9D1) typically depicts a generic person, often without specific gender or age indicators, which can vary in appearance across platforms from a stylized outline to a more detailed figure. The skin tone modifier (1F3FC) applies a medium-light skin color to this base.
Group:
People & Body > person
Status:
fully-qualified
Emotion:
Neutral, as the base emoji represents a generic person. The skin tone modifier adds a specific demographic attribute but does not inherently convey emotion. It is used to provide greater representation and specificity.
Backstory
The base 'person' emoji (1F9D1) was approved as part of Unicode 9.0 in 2016. The specific skin tone modifiers (like 1F3FC, which is the medium-light tone) were introduced earlier, as part of Unicode 8.0 in 2015, following extensive discussions on emoji diversity and the need for greater representation beyond the default yellow/orange skin color of many earlier human-like emoji. The combining of a base emoji with a skin tone modifier creates a ZWJ (Zero Width Joiner) sequence, allowing for a single, unified emoji character with the desired skin tone.
Usage Examples
- Used when referring to a generic individual with a medium-light skin tone, without specifying gender: 'I met a person from the group yesterday. 🧑🏼'
- In forms or profiles where a generic person icon with a specific skin tone is needed.
- As a placeholder when the specific role or gender of a person isn't relevant but skin tone representation is desired.
Cultural Differences
General:
The use of skin tone modifiers addresses a global demand for more inclusive and representative emoji. Their cultural impact is primarily around enabling users to self-identify or accurately represent others.
Specific contexts:
In some cultural or social contexts, the choice of skin tone might carry subtle implications about identity, community, or even political alignment, reflecting broader discussions on diversity and representation.