LONDON -- Over 4,000 people have signed a petition in support of six new period-themed emojis, or "femojis," featuring PMS, cramps, and even a sanitary pad.
Sanitary product maker Bodyform launched the campaign calling for the "femojis" to be added to the official unicode keyboard in a bid to break down the stigma surrounding menstruation, and to encourage girls and women to talk about their periods.
"We want to break down the taboos around periods," Nicola Coronado, marketing director of Bodyform, said in a statement.
"There are currently 1,620 emojis on the Unicode keyboard, but for the important things in life, like our periods, there is no way to express ourselves in this new universal language,"
"Let’s be honest, if an aubergine can prosper on your list of frequently used emojis, we’re certain that you can find a million-and-one uses for Bodyform femojis!”
While Bodyform's mocked-up emojis feature a sanitary pad, along with period underwear, cramps, spots, bloating and PMS, they have neglected to include a tampon emoji.
back to #PeriodEmojis. If we must. Surely a little tampax would suffice.— Fiona-Natasha Syms (@fifisyms) March 3, 2016
Supporters of Bodyform's campaign have taken to Twitter to show the emojis they currently use to describe their periods, highlighting the need for a more succinct period emoji vocabulary.
@bodyform #periodemojis hahaaa this is hilarious!— Becks (@BeePowley) February 26, 2016
@bodyform ( not good,in need of pain killers,and cake and sweets )#PeriodEmojis— lydia gough 777 (@lydfp) February 26, 2016
@bodyform #PeriodEmojis ❤️ I get the munchies so bad!!! pic.twitter.com/WtegIDfhxg— Jemma (@pincesspink84) February 27, 2016
@bodyform literally just food #PeriodEmojis— luce (@LucieSeviour) March 1, 2016
However, not everyone is on board with the #femoji campaign, with some arguing that they wouldn't want to use a period-themed emoji.
I, personally, would never fucking send a #femoji of a pair of "bloody knickers" to people to let them know I'm on my period. Bloody weird.— Emily Stokes (@EmilyAStokes) March 3, 2016
It's possible to be a feminist and utterly cringe at sanitary towel and period based emojis. Fuck. Off. Bodyform.#femoji #nope— Sarah Kiggins (@sarahteresa3) March 4, 2016