
This misunderstood gem, šāāļø, is actually Woman Gesturing OK (the intention is an āOKā sign in Japan), but many Americans might see this more as Natalie Portman in Black Swan. Then thereās a number of emojis that lack clear meaning. Over time, everyoneās emoji sets have converged towards a given emojiās most popular use-the pistol is now a water pistol on pretty much every platform-but there are still plenty of opportunities for confusion.āÄ«ut emojis arenāt just a shorthand they afford us the ability to convey tone, emotion, even playfulness while also providing a clarity and reassurance to text that might otherwise be read as ambiguous.
#THUMBS UP MEANING ANDROID#
But Apple was the only one to change this at the time, so if an iPhone user texted someone using an Android phone, the cute toy would have a very different meaning. Back in 2016, Apple changed their version of āpistolā to be a water pistol, rather than a revolver. Apple has their emoji font, Google has theirs, and they generally line up, but in some cases, the differences are really important. āSay someone with an iPhone is texting someone with a Google Pixel. Notes Bramhill, this also introduces new kinds of confusion, as was the case of Barlow v. Axtellās book Gestures: The Doās and Taboos of Body Language Around the World, Russia, Australia, Iran, Greece, and Sardinia interpret the thumbs up symbol to mean āup yours.āÄ®mojis arenāt just a shorthand they afford us the ability to convey tone, emotion, even playfulness while also providing a clarity and reassurance to text that might otherwise be read as ambiguous. āIf Gay thought that Barlow was mad at her when she got the text, opening the message assuming it would be passive-aggressive, I totally understand how Gay might feel offended by āšš.ā In the same way someone can sarcastically say āgreat jobā when youāve just spilled red wine on a white couch, emoji can be used insincerely-and thatās really hard to be sure about.ā Bramhill also recognizes the ways in which gestures can have different meanings across cultures. Bramhill, who has never seen a single episode of any Real Housewives (couldnāt be me š„ŗ), has never heard of the single or double thumbs up being used as a fuck you, but he doesnāt dismiss the interpretation. Mark Bramhill, a podcast producer and host of Welcome to Macintosh, has devoted multiple episodes to uncovering where emojis come from, how they are designed, and how they come to have meaning. I also call up an emoji expert to weigh in. * Very Wendy Willams voice* sheās got a point. I think we should be talking about the characters of the emoji alphabet, what they really mean, and how they are used as weapons against us.ā Itās become a language, and with every language, thereās double entendres, thereās nuances. āWhere is the fun in that? I want to have a rainbow of communicative nuances and subtitles with my emojis. When I point to the existence of the middle finger emoji, she breezily shrugs it off.
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Okay, but what about the double emoji thumbs up? Is there a universality of understanding among ex-Mormons, Salt Lakers, and Real Housewives that my brain is not privy to? āIn my heart and mind, and amongst my friends, there was a universal text code that if you sent two thumbs up, it was F and U, but a nonaggressive way of doing it versus an exclamation point on a message,ā explains Gay. I think we should be talking about the characters of the emoji alphabet, what they really mean, and how they are used as weapons against us. Fuck you, ā- a reference to a text exchange between the two that ended with Gay sending a pair of thumbs up emojis, which, according to an insulted Barlow, is āuniversal text codeā for fuck you. And until you figure out what it is that I trigger in you, we canāt have a good solid conversation and move forward.

Lisa Barlow (who considers herself āMormon 2.0ā) says to Heather Gay (a self-proclaimed āgood Mormon gone badā), āI have never done anything mean to you.

Letās set the scene: The ladies of Salt Lake City, the 10th American Housewives franchise, are seated at a dinner.


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And itās all because of this: š, the thumbs-up emoji, that this debate's lived rent free in our minds for weeks. But itās the latest fracas that has permeated the Housewives ether and ignited a larger, albeit no less tacky, cultural conversation. Cast members (and the showās editors) have turned the ability to make the most mundane fights into extraordinary, multi-episode-long events, all for loyal viewers to devour week after week. Consider Luann de Lesseps and Dorinda Medleyās fight over the designer Jovani Teresa Giudiceās feud with her sister-in-law, Melissa Gorga, about sprinkle cookies the Sonja Morgan Tipsy Girl versus Bethenny Frankel Skinnygirl battle! Epic. If thereās one thing Bravoās Real Housewives franchise is known for, itās the ability to platform lowbrow discourse.
