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Living October 31, 2019

Nearly 400 new emojis debut, including gender-neutral options

WATCH: News headlines today: Dec. 23, 2020

One emoji, two emoji, three emoji, four-hundred emoji?!

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That's right, nearly 400 brand-new emojis have been released in the latest Apple iOS update.

There's 398 to be exact, including an extensive collection of non-binary, or gender-neutral emojis.

New in iOS 13.2: A gender-neutral option for nearly all human emojis ๐Ÿง›โ€โ™€๏ธ / ๐Ÿง› / ๐Ÿง›โ€โ™‚๏ธ pic.twitter.com/ZFKhQhNhwk

— Emojipedia ๐Ÿ“™ (@Emojipedia) October 28, 2019

From merpeople to vampires, the latest iOS update is giving underrepresented communities a form of heightened visibility.

Changed in iOS 13.2: ๐Ÿง› Vampire, an emoji added in 2017, now has a more ambiguous gender appearance, slimmer fangs, and gray clothing instead of fuchsia; instead of showing with the same design as ๐Ÿง›โ€โ™€๏ธ Woman Vampire as it has until now https://t.co/OmAHgHDXIf pic.twitter.com/kHz18YljRW

— Emojipedia ๐Ÿ“™ (@Emojipedia) October 31, 2019

โ€œEmojis are an extremely popular form of communication in todayโ€™s society, and therefore it is critical that all Apple users have the ability to use emojis that accurately represent their identity," GLAADโ€™s Director of Communications, Mathew Lasky told "GMA."

"As more and more people continue to identify outside of the binary of male and female, Appleโ€™s new gender-neutral emojis reflect the diverse world we live in and also raise the bar for inclusion in digital spaces.โ€

Changed in iOS 13.2: ๐Ÿ‘ช Family now displays two adults and one child - all with an ambiguous / gender inclusive appearance - instead of showing with the same design as ๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿ‘ฆ Family: Man, Woman, Boy https://t.co/FoYZnsZnMU pic.twitter.com/ULrEvGzO5c

— Emojipedia ๐Ÿ“™ (@Emojipedia) October 31, 2019

In addition to the new gender-inclusive options, users will now be able to select any combination of skin tone for the Holding Hand emoji.

New in iOS 13.2: Mixed Skin Tone Support for Men Holding Hands https://t.co/aX2PiHdE9E pic.twitter.com/jRccu8ECOC

— Emojipedia ๐Ÿ“™ (@Emojipedia) October 30, 2019

Apple is celebrating diversity in its many forms.

New in iOS 13.2: ๐Ÿฆฏ Probing Cane https://t.co/ussLpow59J pic.twitter.com/0atsSvuc6o

— Emojipedia ๐Ÿ“™ (@Emojipedia) October 29, 2019

Following Appleโ€™s proposal to the Unicode Consortium last year to introduce more disability-themed emoji, a guide dog, an ear with a hearing aid, wheelchairs, a prosthetic arm and a prosthetic leg are all now available in the emoji keyboard.

New in iOS 13.2: ๐Ÿฆป Ear With Hearing Aid https://t.co/JVWXvLpsat pic.twitter.com/lh6pybzfvI

— Emojipedia ๐Ÿ“™ (@Emojipedia) October 29, 2019

There are now 3,178 emojis according to Emojipedia.