An Emoji by Any Other Name
Exploring the nuance of text-speak in my long distance relationship
It was a milestone in our still new relationship. At first I thought I could just lead by example: punctuating my texts with winks 😉, teary laughter 😂, toothy grins 😀, and blushing smiles 😊. He didn’t catch on.
It’s not like he was completely anti the idea — he sent me a black heart once! — but he whipped them out rarely, randomly, and never when I really need one. I tried dropping hints.
“This would be a time for a smiley face to let me know you’re joking,” I wrote in response to a sarcastic text.
“What am I, a 12-year-old girl?” he replied. “I’m just messing with you, Chief.”
I shouldn’t have been surprised — he’s got a salty personality, he collects vintage brass knuckles, he’s been known to call me “chief” for no reason, and, yeah, he really isn’t the kind of dude to end his messages by blowing kisses. But surely everyone has a silly side? Besides, they must mean something to him, too, because after we got together romantically, he sure seemed awfully pleased that he’d turned my yellow hearts red.
So, that’s how I, a 38-year-old grown-ass woman, ended up asking my 46-year-old grown-ass boyfriend to start using EMOJIS. Why? Well…that’s a little more…
