A TikTok video went viral because a presenter confused the Pokémon Unown symbols with the gender identity symbols in a professional development training on LGBTQ+ issues.
Tiktoker thegoldenstandard started off by saying:
"I had a professional development this morning to discuss LGBTQ+ issues, and the presenter shared this image as the gender identity symbols."
"And those are the Unown from Pokémon."
They moved the camera to reveal a photo of various symbols from the Unown.
They continued:
"So, I had to write a professional email, letting her know the mistake."
"Like, there's a link to bulbapedia in here and also provided the correct chart that she meant to use."
For those who aren't as fluent in Pokémon lore, here's an explanation from the Pokémon fandom Wiki page:
"Unown is a flat, thin Pokémon shaped like an eye with appendages that make it resemble a letter of the latin alphabet or a punctuation mark. It is entirely black, except for its large white eye with a small, black pupil."
"They come in 28 different forms, 26 resembling each letter of the latin alphabet as well as a question mark and an exclamation point."
What the presenter intended to include were symbols for male and female sexes, symbols representing transgender and nonbinary genders and those that represent sexualities.
Though these two symbol charts represent vastly different things, the mistake was very clear.
TikTok was amused.
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The famous dog TikTok account I am Bunny was hoping to get a part two.
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Though many TikTok users are asking for more, we haven't gotten a follow up video yet.
With 1.4 million views and over 377 thousand likes currently, there's a chance this won't be the end of the story.
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