In a bid to end beauty stereotypes and make the digital world more inclusive, a group of young London students and professionals have designed what they hope will be their first product. emoticon Black people with various hairstyles.
The project, a partnership between the organization Rise.365 and public relations agency Good Relations, hopes to combat “texturism,” a form of discrimination in which Afro hair is often perceived as “unprofessional,” “unattractive,” or “unattractive.” I want it. “It’s dirty,” he says.
There are almost 4,000 people. emoticon – Symbols representing human emotions or online entities – but hairstyles of people who are not black or white are not shown. Rise.365 and Good Relations are starting to work to change that.
A group of young people prepared an outline of this plan. emoticon And then the designers realized the final product.
Jayzik Duckoo draws the sketch.
Reuters
“(Os emoticon) can be terminated. standard “It’s in response to society’s demands that you have straight hair to look desirable,” says Jayzik Duckoo, an 18-year-old who worked on the project. “I want people to be proud of their hair.”
There are 4 emoticon Wherever afro hair, braids and dreadlocks appear, they will be transferred to Unicode in 2025. emoticon.
Search for “.afro hair“(Afro hair, in Portuguese) can help emoticon Unicode is acceptable because it takes into account how often a term is associated with it. emoticon Rise.365 points out that it is used.
Unicode did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Olivia Mushigo, who led the project, said: emoticon It makes people feel “empowered and seen.”
A suggestion from a young Londoner
The 28-year-old said she has never felt discriminated against because of her hair, but her brother did.
“My brother could do that. emoticon Being similar can boost his confidence and show him that his hair is beautiful,” he says. “Personally speaking, finally emoticon It looks like me, it’s something I can identify with.”
According to a survey conducted by Rise.365 of 104 people, 61% of respondents had already experienced discrimination or discrimination. bullying Because of the hair. A 2023 study from Crown Research Studies found that 66% of black women change their hairstyle for a job interview.
Designed by Vanita Brown emoticonPoint out one of the reasons. emoticon What is not yet available is considered standard due to Eurocentric beauty standards.
The lack of expressive power in the image bank is also a problem.Brown points out. Mushigo points to the lack of diversity at tech companies, where people of color are underrepresented.
“We hope to see more diversity and inclusion in our technology teams as they improve. emoticon “It truly represents the diversity of the world we live in,” he says.
