The Most Amusing — and Troubling — New "Gaymoji" From Grindr

One of the perks of an online app like Grindr is that you can hit on people who might be "out of your league" without the sting of rejection. I mean, not entirely without the sting of rejection, but hey, getting ignored is way less painful than a face-to-face rebuff at a bar or something.

I'm already worried people are going to weaponize this rating system. Can you imagine messaging someone, sending a few additional selfies, or even sharing personal explicit photographs only to be answered with nothing but a "2"? I'm, like, preemptively ready to binge-eat ice cream and cry while looking at myself in the mirror.

What's more fun than getting into a conversation and shooting over a "yass" or a "kiki"? There's even a Mean Girls emoji, a Bloody Mary, and a unicorn. I don't know about you, but as someone who really enjoys sending a random emoji to fill some silence or for no discernible reason at all, I think I'll have a field day with these.

Also a bunk bed is a way more fun way to express your bedroom desires. Although, I can't help but wonder what you should do when you're good with both.

Listen, Grindr. I recognize your ardent attempts to get in on the slang of today's youth. But, well, I don't think anyone has really used "ASL" since AOL, and we kind of left "turnt" and "lit" behind in 2016. Also, is there any scenario in which you would only use the phrase "AF"? I mean, it's supposed to modify an adjective. You can't just be like, "Hey. As f*ck."

Also, maybe it's just me, but I think it's strange to include two people hooking up in a bathroom stall. And did we really need four different colored cars all saying "OMW"? It also seems kind of superfluous to include "host" and "travel" options (often used to denote whose place an encounter will occur at), because, like, it's literally one word.

This may not apply to everyone, but I always seize the opportunity to work a little self-deprecating humor into conversation. Why yes, I would like to include a gravestone with "ME" etched into it. Yes, I was a lazy garbage person who spent the whole day on the couch in my underwear. Yes, I am a little basic. Thank you very much.

Listen, I'm all about inclusion, and I think it's important to represent all races when it comes to something like emoji. But, um, the whole point of why we started using an eggplant and a peach emoji to represent a penis and a butt is because we didn't have any other options. And it was a fun, more subtle way to flirt via text. I don't think anyone asked for brown or apricot colored eggplants or peaches. And we definitely didn't need eggplants with piercings and c*ckrings on them. It just looks . . . weird.

See, here is a good opportunity to work in some diversity. Grindr has done a pretty good job of including many kinds of gender identities, gender expressions, races, relationships, etc. There are even different representations of sex culture: BDSM and dominant/submissive play, leather play, handcuffs, foot fetishes, etc.

For all the inclusion the new gaymoji have, it seems the default for most graphics is still white. Many of the hand gestures, underwear graphics, "SMH" and "OMG" exclamations, top/bottom distinctions, etc., use predominantly white men. It's not enough just to give a few options to people of color. We've got to see representation across the board.