Apple have introduced period and disability emojis in their latest update

Excellent news all round.

Apple has finally introduced a period emoji, as well as emojis depicting people with disabilities. The new iOS 13.2 update, which rolled out for iPhone, iPad, and other related iDevices this week, includes an additional 350 emojis that were approved by the company earlier this year. Among them are gender neutral emojis alongside those depicting male and female characters, as well as the option to choose the skin tone of the holding hands emoji. Emoji characters representing disability are also present in the update, including a hearing aid, a wheelchair user, a guide dog, a prosthetic limb, and a person using a guide walking stick. The period emoji, in particular, has been included to reduce the worldwide stigma around menstruation. It will appear as a single drop of blood in the emoji keyboard. Earlier this year, Lucy Russell, head of girl's rights and youth at Plan International UK, said that they hope the new emoji will change the way a lot of people view periods. "The inclusion of an emoji which can express what 800 million women around the world are experiencing every month is a huge step towards normalising periods and smashing the stigma which surrounds them," she said. "For years we’ve obsessively silenced and euphemised periods. As experts in girls’ rights, we know that this has a negative impact on girls; girls feel embarrassed to talk about their periods, they’re missing out, and they can suffer health implications as a consequence.” Apple users can avail of the new emojis by updating their device via their settings. In text image via Emojipedia.