It’s been 15 years since the introduction of the emoji as we know it today. In that time, the Unicode Consortium has approved an outstanding 3790 emoji—ranging from ubiquitous smileys and emoticons to more obscure objects and symbols (seriously, has anyone ever used the ~card index divider~ emoji?).
Yet, despite publishing (and maintaining) such a monumental number of emoji, Unicode has enabled a deliberate and distinct absence of some very important emoji that would allow large populations of people to better express themselves in digital environments: minority flag emoji.
Of particular importance to us here—as queer people living in Australia—is the absence of both LGBTQIA+ flags, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags. “These decisions have real world consequences,” Aboriginal creative Emrhan Tjapanangka Sultan tells Not Safe For Queers. “You know, when they deny recognition to these symbols which hold deep meaning for us in marginalised communities, they’re reinforcing erasure.”
“These aren’t just icons. They’re expressions of identity, and a symbol of belonging.”
That’s why, with the introduction of Apple’s new AI Genmoji feature, Sultan and his crew at the First Nations illustration agency, Solid Lines, have devised a workaround. Initially, it was a mission of self-representation; one which aimed to represent the oldest living culture on earth. But it very quickly turned communal.
“For so long, we’ve had to work around systems that don’t see us or really reflect us,” Sultan explains. “So, after the rejection from Unicode on including the Aboriginal flag, we realised we needed to take matters into our own hands.”
“And the response we got from that was amazing. The feedback from community was really incredible. So, we decided to help other underrepresented communities create their own as well.”
Since then, Solid Lines has launched a separate Instagram account, Last Nations Emojis, dedicated to generating the minority flag emoji so desperately missing from our keyboards (since Unicode et al. won’t do it for us).
On the account, you can find instructions on how to generate your own Aboriginal flag, various LGBTQIA+ flags (including the lesbian, bisexual, non-binary and intersex flags), and more than 40 other minority flags from around the world.
Sultan remarks, “It’s time to shift the mindset from gatekeeping to accountability. The digital world is not neutral. It either includes or excludes. And we took the opportunity to choose inclusion.”
Flag Generation Instructions
To create these flags, users will need to have their iPhone* updated to IOS 18.2, open the keyboard, select the Emoji icon and add the prompt.
- Aboriginal flag emoji: a wavy black and red rectangle with a medium sized yellow circle in the middle
- Lesbian flag emoji: a wavy red and purple rectangle with an orange, white and pink stripe in the middle
- Bisexual flag emoji: a wavy pink and navy rectangle with a purple stripe in the middle
- Intersex flag emoji: a wavy yellow rectangle with a purple outline circle in the middle
- Asexual flag emoji: a wavy black and purple rectangle with a grey and white stripe in the middle
- Non-Binary flag emoji: a wavy yellow and black rectangle with white and purple stripe
- Pansexual flag emoji: a wavy pink, yellow and blue rectangle
* Note: Genmoji is available only iPhone 15 Pro and up