A viral tweet revealing that this emoji comes from lesbian sex is blowing people’s minds

A viral tweet has revealed to many that an emoji comes from a mask which was historically used during lesbian sex.

The Japanese Goblin emoji, which was added to the emoji library in 2015, comes from the tengu mask.

That’s right, the same mask used as a sex toy in this 17th-century portrayal of sapphic lovemaking.

(Twitter/whoresofyore)

As the wonderful Twitter account Whores of Yore explains, the picture is “a 17th-century shunga woodblock printing from Japan depicting two women having sex.

“One has tied a tengu mask around her waist, and penetrates her partner using its long nose.”

But it was another Twitter user who recognised the significance for 21st-century readers.

They wrote: “So it turns out this emoji is actually a Japanese strap-on.

(Twitter/nefertizzy)

“Won’t be long before it’s turned into a water gun, so use it while it lasts,” they added, referring to the move to change the gun emoji into a water-based weapon.

Both posts have attracted more than 20,000 retweets and likes.

A study in March showed that women who have sex with women are more likely to orgasm.

(Pexels)

Researchers at the University of Arkansas discovered that though straight partners have sex more often, bisexual and lesbian women have more orgasms – by far.


The study, which had 2,300 respondents, found that women were 33 percent more likely to orgasm when they were having sex with another woman.

And they also told the study, titled “Are Women’s Orgasms Hindered by Phallocentric Imperatives?”, that they were more likely to experience multiple orgasms with women.

Those in same-sex relationships said they orgasmed, on average, 55 times per month.

(Pexels)

This stood in stark contrast with women in straight relationships, who said they usually achieved just seven orgasms per month.

Dr Kristen Jozkowski said: “Sex that includes more varied sexual behaviour results in women experiencing more orgasms,” according to The Sun.

Sex between women “was excitingly diversified,” she explained.

These results followed a study last year which showed that gay men and lesbians are better at sex than straight people.

(Pexels)

The four researchers, David A. Frederick, H. Kate St. John, Justin R. Garcia and Elisabeth A. Lloyd, measured the orgasms which people across the sexuality spectrum have.

They found – perhaps not shockingly – that heterosexual men were most likely to say they “usually always orgasmed when sexually intimate,” doing so 95 percent of the time.

In contrast, straight women orgasm in just 65 percent of cases.

(Pexels)

The orgasm gap is well-documented, and its generally accepted in the academic community that women climax less often than men – but this, of course, is a heteronormative theory.

It doesn’t consider the fact that possibly, just possibly, non-heterosexual people are better at sex.

And a historical Japanese mask-turned-dildo can only help.