Kimoji Doesn't Work on Grindr, but Grindr Werks for Kim K

The black hearts and glossed, tan derrieres in Kim Kardashian's self branded lexicon, Kimoji, debuted with such ferocity on Monday that it may have clogged the world's top digital distribution platform, the Apple App Store. In addition to dismembered cartoon renderings of the most iconic Kardashian style staples, like nude lips and teal hair with black roots, Kim's alphabet is rich with queer iconography, including the (passé) rainbow flag, and other more contemporary symbols of homonormativity, such as the cum covered peach, or "YASSSS" word bubble.

Grindr, another App Store favorite, is a channel for the modern gay male's subversive sex practices. Naturally, Kimoji belongs there, as pop cultural waste is often ironically embraced in mainstream gay circles. And yet the Kardashian app is incompatible with our nation's popular M4M hookup service. Whereas the standard Emojis we know and love can be directly input to a Grindr, or text, message, Kimoji relies upon copy and paste technology.

For some reason, when a Kimoji is copied to an iPhone clipboard, the paste function is no longer possible within Grindr. Flirting with guys using Kimoji on text message is easy and fun, but transfer over to Grindr, and your only option is to upload a screenshot like some out-of-date nobody.

As John Tuite, a DJ who did computer programming in college, told Broadly correspondent Mitchell Sunderland, "Emojis are a coded language. It's like an alphabet." That's what language is, a system of symbols that communicate meaning. It is always in flux. Tuite says that Emojis originated in Japan. "Emojis were invented by cell phone manufacturers in Japan to appeal to teenagers."

A Japanese programmer named Shigetaka Kurita is credited with creating emojis at the turn of the 21st century. The cute circular faces took over the country, but a decade and a half later, the cultural tides have shifted in Japan. In an interview with the Independent earlier this month, Kurita said that emojis are losing popularity in Japan: "They're still around, they're still pervasive, but they aren't a fad any more."

According to the Independent, emojis were so big in 2008 that Japan's obsession with them nearly did in the Japanese release of the iPhone. While the Japanese people were excited for the new cellphone model, "There was just one problem: zero emoji capability. Unlike consumers in every other corner of the planet, Japanese customers stayed away from the iPhone in droves."

Could the same lack of compatibility that almost cost Apple the market in Japan also threaten to take Kim Kardashian's gay male fandom from her? It's not clear where the lack of compatibility originates—whether it's a problem with Kimoji or Grindr—but either way, these fag friendly apps need to figure it out. A spokesperson for Grindr told Broadly in an email, "We love Kim. Actually, we [heart-eyes emoji] her," they wrote. In the meantime, Grindr offers the Kardashian goddess a tribute of solidarity. "Ask Kim if she wants a free [Grindr] profile while we look into it," the spokesperson said.

Broadly contacted the support email for Kimoji for comment. As of press time they did not respond.

Contributing reporting by Mitchell Sunderland.