Transgender flag among brand new emojis for 2020

New symbols also include a gender-neutral Santa Claus

(Emojipedia Sample Image Collection)

A transgender flag is among the newest batch of emojis to be introduced for 2020.

The list of 177 new symbols also includes men in wedding gowns and a gender-neutral Santa Claus named Mx Claus.

Also included in the new additions is a woman wearing a tuxedo.

The emojis are created by Unicode Consortium, a non-profit California-based organisation that designs emojis for all Apple and Android devices, though the emojis themselves look different on different platforms.

Unicode Consortium’s latest release has been praised on social media as the most progressive yet, particularly with regards to gender.

One Twitter user said the new emojis would help give a voice to marginalised communities.

“Getting to see yourself... is validation that you are being heard and that your voice matters,” they tweeted.

Another added: “Trans rights are human rights”.

The website Emojipedia, which is part of the Unicode Consortium, said: “Announced today by the Unicode Consortium, the 117 new emojis form part of Emoji 13.0 and will come to most platforms in the second half of 2020.

“Variations of existing emojis now approved for 2020 include a woman or gender-inclusive person in a tuxedo, as well as a gender-neutral person or a man in a veil. These, along with other approved emojis, will be coming to phones later this year.

“Also included in this update is a gender-inclusive alternative to Santa Claus and Mrs Claus, named Mx Claus.

“This addition is part of an ongoing effort to make more consistent set of gender options across the board, and expands upon the 138 new gender-neutral emojis added in late 2019 as part of Emoji 12.1.”

You can see the full list of new emojis for 2020 here.