Nottingham schoolgirl launches campaign for more emojis to wear glasses

A teenager from Nottingham, who inspired Disney to create a princess with glasses, is calling for more emojis to wear them too.

13-year-old Lowri Moore wrote to Disney aged 9, which led to her being personally credited by Encanto director Jared Bush, as inspiration for main character Mirabel Madrigal being shown wearing glasses.

Lowri, from Chilwell in Nottinghamshire, has now set her sights on the company that decides what emojis look like.

In a letter to the Unicode Consortium, Lowri said: "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."

The organisation includes internet and computing powers like Facebook-owner Meta, Google, Amazon, Apple and Netflix.

Lowri's #Glasseson campaign launched today (OCT 13TH)- World Sight Day.

She tells us:

"There are lots of people who need glasses, but don't wear them for fear of being different.

"If we add a glasses wearing emoji, even if it's just one, it'll make people feel represented, so they know that they're not un-cool.

She added:

"The existing emojis are the nerd-face, the teacher and the granny, which are all stereotypes.

"It would be nice to have just a normal one (emoji)- but just with glasses."

Lowri's campaign is being backed by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), which earlier this year awarded Lowri its campaigner of the year award.

Jessica Thompson, IAPB policy, strategy and advocacy director, said: "We're so proud of Lowri."

She added: "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."

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