Durex Is Trying To Make The Condom Emoji A Thing, Which Is Actually A Great Idea

Like it or lump it, emoji are an increasingly vital part of the way we communicate with each other. The Oxford Dictionaries named the Face with Tears of Joy emoji as their official Word of the Year a couple of days ago, and conversations around representing LGBTI people and people of colour in emoji have been bubbling for a while.

Emoji have also inserted themselves (ahem) into that other cultural touchstone of the smartphone age: sexting. Using whimsical little drawings of fruit to ask for sex is a fascinating and still relatively unexplored phenomenon, but the humble eggplant, pointy-finger and water-splashy emoji have become synonymous with sexting, and potentially even changed how we perceive the practice.

Sexting in its various forms periodically leads to outbreaks of moral panic, but emoji seem to have been given a free pass by the kind of people who freak out about kids using Snapchat. It makes sense; it’s harder to drum up outrage over someone asking for sex by sending a picture of a taco, as opposed to their naked body, and an unsolicited eggplant emoji is infinitely less distressing than a surprise photo of a random penis courtesy of some fuckwit on Tinder.

With all that in mind, this very clear attempt by Durex to promote their brand is pretty interesting, and kind of great. In the lead-up to World AIDS Day on December 1, the company are pushing for an official condom emoji to promote safe sex.

According to Dr. Mark McCormack, the Co-Director of Durham University’s Centre for Sex, Gender and Sexualities, being able to quickly, recognisably and non-verbally state the need for protection in any potential sexual encounter is a no-brainer, especially for younger people who may feel uncomfortable with asking for protection.

“While participants generally felt able to discuss safe sex within their romantic relationships, there was more uncertainty with new or potential partners. 80 percent welcomed the idea of the emoji to make the discussion of safe sex easier and more fun,” McCormack said, whose research has been highlighted by Durex.

Sexting is a thing, and it ain’t going away any time soon. If we’re gonna do it, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to do it safe. Plus, it’s cute! Look at this little guy.