There’s something we don’t think about on a regular, but are a huge part in our lives. Yes, you read that right, and it’s none other than emojis. Emojis are quite literally the “a picture is worth a thousand words” in real life applications. Can’t send them that serious text? Add a smiley emoji. Someone been on their bullshit recently? Send a smirking emoji to show you know who they really are. Getting dirty while you text (I never do this, I’ve only heard stories) there’s more than enough emojis to get that across. But there is only one that’s been added to Emoji 12.0 that really stands out to me.
And yes, it’s the one picture above. The ‘pinching hand’ emoji.
I think it pretty much speaks for itself when I say, that this emoji, is devastating. Less so because of what it is, but because of what it represents. To the untrained eye, the emoji is merely depicting something small, and if you were less so inclined to understand culture you wouldn’t understand the hidden meaning. It’s quite obvious, so do I really have to spell it out?
It means you’ve got a small d***.
Yes yes, very unsavoury, I know. But that’s the truth of the world. We’re all so very inclined to make shitty jokes at the expense of others, and I’m okay with it.
There are many applications that I can figure out for the use of the ‘pinching hand’, but one comes to mind ever so easily. I can see millions, if not billions of women who have received unsolicited pictures/messages, and sending this emoji as their one stop shop to shut them the f*** up. I mean, this tiny gesture could destroy a man, with just a glance.
But okay, maybe I’m misinterpreting things. There seems to be other possible applications to the new emoji.
Bodo Winter, a lecturer in Cognitive Linguistics at the University of Birmingham, studied the exact gesture, but in real life. He researched the meaning of the pinching hand, especially used in TV news. From the study, he and his colleagues found out that people communicate ideas by making signals to resemble said ideas.
The pinching gesture echoes the real-world action of picking up something tiny. Winter explained:
“People actually put their index finger and thumb closer together if they want to grasp a small object, and the pinch gesture is generally seen as mimicking this actual practical action.”
Well I guess that settles it. This emoji, while bad, it makes for a fun time texting. In reality, no one really cares, and everyone just wants more emojis to describe each and every aspect of our lives.
