'Homojis': 10 Emojis Expressing Queer History and Culture

MajestyK, an app company, has created a new keyboard of emojis designed exclusively for the LGBT community.

The app, Homoji, provides users with over 100 queer-themed emojis that are designed "to create a social experience that truly speaks to how gay men and women communicate with one another," according to a spokesperson. Colorful and witty, the selection includes everything from queer symbols like rainbow flags to expressions like "Do you boo!"

Mark Garcia, one of the lead minds behind Homoji, shared the story of how the concept came into being.

What inspired Homojis?
We're always looking for ways to integrate the latest technology into the work we do. And as an agency, the projects we love to work on are the ones that align with our interests as a group and as individuals. Homoji was one of those concepts that really struck a chord with the team. It came up in a creative meeting as we were discussing the growing emoji trend. With members of our team being part of the LGBTQ community, Homoji was a product that we saw a need for in the market. We looked into other similar apps, but nothing embraced the cultural nuances the way we were envisioning. As soon as we began drafting ideas for what this would look like we realized we were on to something. The project took on a life of its own the more we continued to research and work on it.

Why do we need them?
Homoji provides the LGBTQ community with a fun, lighthearted social experience. Other apps we've seen fail to encapsulate all those attributes, so that's what we set out to create. It's a product that speaks to the way gay men and women communicate with one another. We want to use the app as a platform to help connect the LGBTQ community. We also plan to incorporate an educational and historical aspect to app experience. Future iterations will have functionality that provides more context and historical information, particularly around the gay symbols, flags, their meaning and historical significance.

The Homoji app is now available. Learn more at MajestyKApps.com.