Feminism has scored another major victory for equality.
Facebook recently made a subtle but undoubtedly important update to its friend request button.
The icon which displays friend requests when received or accepted was changed so that the female icon now appears before the male.
Lean in baby!
“As a woman, educated at a women’s college, it was hard not to read into the symbolism of the current icon; the woman was quite literally in the shadow of the man, she was not in a position to lean in,” said Facebook designer Caitlin Winner, designer of the new icon.
Not only did she change the position of the female but gave her a slick new bob hair style to replace the “Darth Vader-like helmet.”
Ever since the arrival of COO Sheryl Sandberg and the publication of her book ‘Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead, feminist issues have become much more prominent at Facebook.
Apparently the site will continue to show the male icon if a male user is logged in but for myself and others it was only showing the female icon.
If it shows you the male icon it’s probably because you’re a misogynist.
