#InclusiveBitmojis

Hey Everyone!

I think it's time to start talking about #InclusiveBitmojis again! If you don't know what I'm talking about - here is some background:

#InclusiveBitmojis started about six months ago when I was planning to update my Bitmoji. And I did. I changed out of the winter clothes and into summer clothes. BUT there was something missing that I should've really noticed earlier (I think I did but didn't think too much of it at the time) and that was a wheelchair! I searched & searched the whole Bitmoji app for it, and there was nothing which got me thinking...

Bitmoji really need to add disability options and I'm not just talking about wheelchairs, I'm talking about all different kinds of options like prosthetics, orthotics, breathing tubes, canes, and more. So I had a thought of doing a video for my YouTube channel:

THEN, I also started a change.org petition to raise even more awareness towards getting Inclusive Bitmojis and hopefully to get a response from Bitmoji themselves.

After posting the video and petition, I received some feedback.  I believe I had about 50-100 signatures after a few days but to me, it still wasn't enough feedback. This is an important topic and needs more push towards it.

SO I took it to Instagram and posted the following picture with more info about the reasoning behind the importance of wanting Inclusive Bitmojis (diversity being the main reason):

View this post on Instagram

This is my #bitmoji and I love the app BUT there's something missing. And that is a wheelchair! Bitmojis are supposed to be a representation of who we are but for the disability community, we don't have the same feel for representation because @bitmoji doesn't have any disability options. 20-25% of the population have a disability and aren't being represented. I would love to be able to add a wheelchair to my Bitmoji because that is a better representation of me. I posted a video on #YouTube about my thoughts on wanting disability options for Bitmoji. I also started a petition and hope to reach a wider audience so we, the disability community, can represent ourselves better when we share our Bitmojis. The link to the petition is on my bio so please sign and share! 😀❤♿ #disability #awareness #representation #representationmatters #disabiityawareness #change #love #life #live #important #petition #inclusivebitmojis

A post shared by Caitlin Goerlich (@cgoerlich) on Apr 27, 2019 at 5:37pm PDT

REPRESENTATION MATTERS!

That's basically the main point of my Instagram post because it does. We see talks about representation mattering when it comes to other minority groups but there's never a huge talk when it comes to the disabled community (remember my Oscars' controversy post).

BUT anyways back to the Instagram post. After I posted it, I started getting more feedback and even more signatures towards the petition. AND it wasn't all me as it took one more person to see the post for it to really start reaching more people and that was one of my former teachers who helped a lot with the campaign, as well as one of my friends who too would like to see himself represented in his Bitmoji.

Ever since the initial Instagram post, we have done more videos - a PSA on Facebook & Instagram and a couple update videos on my YouTube page.

With all this push, the petition now has 1,600 signatures and I'm ecstatic about it! We even received a couple responses from Bitmoji on Twitter. The first response was a generic one (similar to one they've been giving for the past three years to others who have asked):

That was definitely a generic answer and they say they're "actively working" on it but they've been saying that for almost three years now and haven't shown any movement of having disability options for Bitmoji. So we kept at it and tweeting #InclusiveBitmojis, and after (I believe) a week, they responded again with a more real answer:

It's still NOT a great answer but it's a better one than their previous answer. But I still have a question: Is it really that hard? I mean...you have cars, you have lounge chairs (and other kinds of chairs), and more. It's not like we're asking for every sticker in the app.

We know some of the disability options won't work for some of the stickers. We just want to be able to see that we're included and that there are options & stickers for us. I no longer use the stickers where my Bitmoji is standing because I feel it truly wouldn't represent me if she's standing and I'm not.

It's time, Bitmoji! Even if is just one option...for now. Show us that you are serious about adding disability options. And remember, it's not just wheelchairs we want - we want ALL disabilities to be represented.

Now - the reason why I'm writing this post is to bring the #InclusiveBitmojis campaign back to life because it has slowed down over the last couple months and we need to pick it back up! Bitmoji hasn't shared any new disability options yet and I feel we should remind them that we are still waiting for those options.

As I'm writing this post, the petition has 1,607 signatures and I would LOVE that number to go up. So if you haven't signed the petition yet, please do so and if you have signed it, SHARE it everywhere you can: Bitmoji Needs Disability Options Petition

Along with sharing the petition, you can share this blog post or any of the videos that we have posted. There are a couple videos on Twitter, a couple on my YouTube channel, and Instagram. And don't forget to use the tag #InclusiveBitmojis in your posts. Also tweet Bitmoji on Twitter using #InclusiveBitmojis!

Let's get ALL people represented.

Until Next Time

CGoerlich <3