🏾
Medium-Dark Skin Tone Modifier
MEE-dee-uhm DAHRK skin tohn
Definitions
1
Personalization · Diversity
Very Common
A modifier applied to human-form emojis to represent medium-dark skin tone, based on Type-5 of the Fitzpatrick scale. Used to customize emojis for more diverse representation.
Applied to hand gestures, people, and body part emojis to reflect the user's identity or represent diverse individuals.
Just completed my first marathon! 🏃🏾♂️ So proud of myself!
Social media post
Thank you for your support! 👍🏾
Text message
Part of Unicode's effort to make emoji more inclusive and representative of global diversity, introduced in 2015.
Evolution Timeline
2015
Introduction of skin tone modifiers in Unicode 8.0 to address lack of diversity in emoji representation.
Growing criticism about lack of representation in digital communication.
2016
Widespread adoption across major platforms including Apple, Google, and Microsoft.
Push for more inclusive digital representation in global communications.
2020
Significant increase in usage during social justice movements and heightened awareness of representation.
Black Lives Matter movement and broader conversations about digital representation.
Cultural Context
Represents a significant shift toward digital inclusion, acknowledging the importance of representation in everyday communication tools.
Part of the Fitzpatrick scale implementation in Unicode, allowing human-form emojis to better represent global diversity.
Emerged from criticism of the default yellow emoji skin tone, which many users felt inadequately represented human diversity.
Usage patterns often reflect regional demographics, with higher usage in diverse metropolitan areas and among communities of color.
Regional Variations
United Kingdom
Common usage similar to US, with particular prominence in urban multicultural areas like London, Birmingham, and Manchester.
United States
Widely used across social media platforms with high awareness of representation importance, particularly among younger users.
Generational Usage
Gen_X: Moderate but growing usage, especially among those active on social media and with diverse social networks.
Gen_Z: High adoption rate, used naturally and consistently. Often seen as essential for authentic self-representation online.
Older: Lower adoption, with some users sticking to default emoji colors, though usage increases with digital literacy.
Millennials: Strong adoption, particularly on professional platforms like LinkedIn and in workplace communication tools.
Common Combinations
👍🏾
Thumbs up gesture with medium-dark skin tone, indicating approval or agreement.
Personalizes the common thumbs up gesture to reflect user identity or represent diversity.
✊🏾
Raised fist with medium-dark skin tone, symbolizing solidarity, strength, or resistance.
Often associated with Black empowerment, social justice movements, and activism.
🙏🏾
Praying hands or high five with medium-dark skin tone, expressing gratitude or spirituality.
Used across various religious and cultural contexts to personalize the gesture.
💅🏾
Nail polish with medium-dark skin tone, conveying self-care, confidence, or sassiness.
Popular in beauty communities and for expressing confidence or dismissiveness.