person shrugging: medium skin tone
Unicode: 1F937 1F3FD
Description
A person shrugging their shoulders, with a moderate skin tone. The gesture indicates uncertainty, indifference, or a lack of knowledge.
Group:
People & Body > person-gesture
Status:
fully-qualified
Emotion:
Typically represents 'I don't know', 'I don't care', 'what can I do?', or a general sense of helplessness or confusion.
Backstory
This emoji was introduced as 'Person Shrugging' in Unicode 9.0 (2016). The gesture itself is ancient and cross-cultural, though its digital representation with a specific skin tone allows for more personal expression in diverse contexts.
Usage Examples
- When asked a question you don't know the answer to: 'Where did I put my keys? 🤷🏽♀️'
- Expressing indifference: 'What do you want for dinner? 🤷🏽♂️'
- Showing helplessness: 'Our flight was canceled, what now? 🤷🏽'
- As a rhetorical question: 'Why does this always happen to me? 🤷🏽'
Cultural Differences
Western culture:
Widely understood as a non-committal gesture, expressing uncertainty or resignation.
East Asian culture:
Less commonly used in direct communication, as it might be perceived as dismissive. Expressing uncertainty often involves more verbal cues or subtle gestures.