Transgender flag and women in tuxedos among new emojis

A new batch of emojis to be released in 2020 includes men in wedding dresses, and a gender-neutral Santa.

The list, released by Unicode Consortium, contains 117 new symbols, expanding what can be said through pictures and symbols.

In 2019 it released emojis of same-sex couples, but received some criticism for not including the transgender flag, which is now being added.

The new release was met with a mostly positive response on social media.

Anna Lytical, a self-described drag queen, said the new emojis were representative of a broader range of people and a gave a voice to marginalised people.

"Getting to see yourself... is validation that you are being heard and that your voice matters."

Unicode Consortium, a non-profit organisation based in California, is responsible for choosing the emojis for Apple and Android devices.

As well as more gender-inclusive symbols, the Emoji 13.0 additions include:

• a set of pinched fingers to symbolise a common Italian hand gesture

• anatomical heart and lungs

• hugging people

• a fondue pot

• bubble tea

• bottle-feeding parents

Last year's release was criticised for not including a transgender flag

But there were complaints on social media that the new emojis were still not inclusive enough of racial diversity. Some on Twitter said they should have included symbols of mixed-race families and a wider range of hairstyles.

A video of the new additions was posted on Emojipedia on Wednesday.

Some of the new symbols are variations on existing emojis

No specific date was given for when the emojis would be released.

Apple typically adds new emojis when it releases an updated operating system in the autumn.