Emojis are fun to use. And in most smartphones, you can add them to your messages. They help show the feelings that you are currently having without using words. New emojis are being added and recently, Apple has announced that they will include a pregnant male emoji as part of their iPhone upgrade.

That’s definitely a total shock for a lot of people. But what is the reason behind the male pregnant emoji? And what does it exactly mean?

According to Apple, the pregnant man emoji will be included in the iOS 15.4 beta test’s feature release. This new update is expected to be accessible later this Spring. According to Emojipedia, the official governing body for all emojis, “pregnancy is possible for some transgender men and non-binary people.” This inspired the creation of the pregnant man emoji.

However, it has been suggested that Apple’s new pregnant man emoji, as well as the gender-neutral pregnant person emoji, could be used for inappropriate intentions. Some believe that the new emojis are just “a tongue-in-cheek way to display a food baby,” the one that depicts a bloated stomach after a particularly hearty meal.

But according to Apple, they are releasing more than just the pregnant male emoji. They will also be releasing other emojis – a bitten lip, interracial handshakes, a drained battery, a crutch, an X-ray scan of the human chest, bubbles, an empty glass jar, as well as a swimming pool slide with and without eggs.

The pregnant man emoji first made headlines in September which met widespread criticisms. The Unicode Foundation officially approved a transgender emoji for the next update. And in response to this shocking news, phone companies like Microsoft, Google, and Apple then proceeded to create their own unique versions of the authorized emojis that may be utilized on their platforms.

Keith Broni at Emojipedia explained, “Since 2019, vendors have been making considerable efforts to offer all people emojis with three different gender variants – one ‘Man,’ one ‘Woman,’ and a non-gender-specifying ‘Person.’ This latest Apple beta update continues this trend by adding two new gender-neutral people emojis in the form of Person with Crown and Pregnant person, as well as adding a new Pregnant Man emoji.”

Jane Solomon also posted a blog “Why Is There a Pregnant Man Emoji?” This was written in response to the new pregnant man emoji update. Solomon explained: “The new pregnancy options may be used for representation by trans men, non-binary people, or women with short hair – though, of course, use of these emojis is not limited to these groups. Men can be pregnant. This applies to the real world (e.g., trans men) and to fictional universes (e.g., Arnold Schwarzenegger in [1994 film] ‘Junior’). People of any gender can be pregnant too. Now there are emojis to represent this.”

It is not yet confirmed when iOS 15 will be released and have these controversial emojis available to its users. However, it is anticipated that it will be released in the spring. Until then, users of iOS can make use of a beta version of the operating system if they are curious about how it works for them. The beta version already includes the new pregnant man emoji.

So, what are your thoughts on the new emojis? Do you think you will be one of those who will be frequently using the pregnant man emoji?