Apple's newest iteration of its wildly
popular iPhone will include gay and lesbian icons.
According to tech blog Gizmodo,
the phone's new iOS 6 operating system sports an expanded emojis
keyboard which supports graphic emoticons for text messaging and
e-mails.
“Two of these new pictograms
represent gay and lesbian couples for the first time,” the blog
wrote.
“The icons are placed next to the
previous relationship-related emojis showing a heterosexual
couple holding hands and a heterosexual couple with a son. One shows
two men holding hands. The other shows two women in the same
position.”
In 2010, the National Organization for
Marriage (NOM), the nation's most vociferous opponent of gay
marriage, labeled Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs “Big Brother” after
the company removed an anti-gay marriage app from its iTunes store.
NOM released
a dramatic video in which a male announcer is heard saying,
“What's happened over the years is the iconic Steve Jobs has become
the ironic Steve Jobs. Tell Big Brother you won't be silenced.”
The new gay emoticons, along with the
fact that current CEO
Tim Cook has never denied reports that he's gay, are certain to
be criticized by NOM and other Christian conservatives.