Facebook friend request logo gets feminist makeover
Female silhouette is no longer in the shadow of the male in the friends icon
VIA FACEBOOK
If you’re a female and have gotten a friend request recently, you may have noticed something different as the icon has been altered shifting the female figure in front of the male one.
The change comes after Facebook designer Caitlin Winner noticed that previously “the woman was quite literally in the shadow of the man” and decided to give it a makeover.
“Much to my dismay, not long into my tenure as a Facebook designer I found something in the company glyph kit worth getting upset about,” Winner said in a post on Medium.
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The first thing she noticed was that “the iconic man was symmetrical except for his spiked hairdo but the lady had a chip in her shoulder,” and that the chip just so happened to be “exactly where the man icon would be placed in front of her”.
“I assumed no ill intentions, just a lack of consideration but as a lady with two robust shoulders, the chip offended me,” Winner said.
“…It was hard not to read into the symbolism of the current icon,” she added.
Further, after filling the shoulder chip, Winner also gave the female icon a “more modern” bob haircut and smoothed the male’s hair.
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The Facebook designer also altered the 'groups' icon, so the woman no longer appeared “in the back left behind the larger centered man”.
“Here again, I placed the lady first,” she said.
While women on Facebook may notice this change, it is not the same for men. After examining various Facebook profiles of men, it appeared that the male icon was still in the front.
The change comes after Facebook designer Caitlin Winner noticed that previously “the woman was quite literally in the shadow of the man” and decided to give it a makeover.
“Much to my dismay, not long into my tenure as a Facebook designer I found something in the company glyph kit worth getting upset about,” Winner said in a post on Medium.
Read: At 25, Taylor Swift proves extraordinary force
The first thing she noticed was that “the iconic man was symmetrical except for his spiked hairdo but the lady had a chip in her shoulder,” and that the chip just so happened to be “exactly where the man icon would be placed in front of her”.
“I assumed no ill intentions, just a lack of consideration but as a lady with two robust shoulders, the chip offended me,” Winner said.
“…It was hard not to read into the symbolism of the current icon,” she added.
Further, after filling the shoulder chip, Winner also gave the female icon a “more modern” bob haircut and smoothed the male’s hair.
Read: US Senate bill would make social media report 'terrorist activity'
The Facebook designer also altered the 'groups' icon, so the woman no longer appeared “in the back left behind the larger centered man”.
“Here again, I placed the lady first,” she said.
While women on Facebook may notice this change, it is not the same for men. After examining various Facebook profiles of men, it appeared that the male icon was still in the front.