Claws Out For Trans: a campaign hijacking the lobster emoji and calling for real trans representation

Emojis are a way for the world to connect. Even technologically inept parents have clocked onto it, signing off their name with at least two various animal faces plus a weather motif. In our image-saturated world, symbols have replaced words, and if men, women, mermaids, vampires, homosexuals and redheads can have their say via a picture, it is not fair that transgender people should be left out of the conversation.

Nail It, a company founded by trans activist and author Charlie Craggs, is launching a campaign called Claws Out For Trans. The “trans flag emoji is one of the most requested symbols, yet it still continues to be ignored by Unicode”. Instead, the panel adds unnecessary characters such as a sledge, bricks, tomato sauce and a lobster. As Nail It comments, it must have been deeply “frustrating and confusing” for people in the past when they had to adopt a different shellfish emoji in a conversation, rather than the lobster.

However, for all of you that didn’t know, lobsters can be gynandromorphs, which means they have both male and female characteristics. So until they get their flag, trans people are hijacking the lobster, making it “the unofficial, official trans symbol”.

The first fight is the fight for visibility, and trans people must not be forgotten. If you agree that they “deserve the same rights and representation as crustaceans”, then sign the petition. In the meantime, use the lobster to highlight how much a real trans symbol would be used.