Schoolgirl calls for nerd-face emoji to be removed
Shola Lee
Featured Image Credit: BBC/JosepPerianes
A schoolgirl is campaigning to have the nerd face emoji changed.
Lowri Moore (13) made the headlines four years ago when a letter she penned to Disney, pleading with them to make a be-speckled princess, went viral.
Encanto, which featured heroine and glasses wearer Mirabel was then released, now Lowri has set her sights on emojis, stressing the need for 'positive change'.
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The Nottinghamshire teen launched her Glasses On campaign today, 13 October.
Today is particularly meaningful for Lowri because it's World Sight Day and she used the opportunity to platform her activism, even writing a letter to Unicode Consortium, the company that makes the emojis we know and love.
The letter read: "Unfortunately, the only glasses-wearing emoji I can find is a nerd face.
"People who wear glasses are not nerds.
"But unless we address this, there's a chance the next generation will grow up believing this lie about themselves."
So, what exactly was Lowri's issue with the emoji, well as she noted: "It's very stereotypical and I shouldn't be put in a box."
"So many human beings just wear glasses so they can see, so why make it a stereotype and make people feel bad?"
And before anyone starts to ask if Lowri's saying that no emojis should have glasses, hold your horses.
What she's campaigning for is the option for glasses to be present or not: "It's so simple, we're not asking that every emoji has to wear glasses - let's just have that option so people don't feel negative about themselves."
"A small difference can go a long way."
As Lowri noted, there are currently only three emojis with glasses, a teacher, a grandmother, and a nerd-like character.
This is something she desperately hopes to change: "I am just trying to raise awareness for an issue which is large, especially for people my age, like teenagers, just to get glasses on emojis.
"Even if it's just one [emoji], this is a positive change."
The campaign is being supported by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness.
Jessica Thompson, director of the agency, explained how 'proud' they are of Lowri.
"It’s such an important issue because certainly, the nerd emoji and having emojis that aren’t representative of people wearing glasses just perpetuates the stigma.
"It’s really important we encourage children and their parents of the importance of looking after their eyes, getting sight tests, and wearing their glasses," she added.
And we couldn't agree more.
Tyla has reached out to Unicode Consortium.