Today, it's hard to imagine text messages or social networking posts without these fun, evocative icons. With over 3,000 emojis available - ranging from classic smiley faces to more original representations such as avocados and flamingos - there's literally something for everyone. But some of these emojis can be controversial. This is the case for 10-year-old Teddy from Oxfordshire.
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Is the glasses emoji a pejorative representation?
If you're an iPhone or iMac user, you've undoubtedly come across the bespectacled emoji sporting a naïve smile and two prominent teeth. A depiction deemed offensive by young Teddy, who decided to call out the tech giant in an interview with the BBC:
Apple makes people who wear glasses look absolutely horrible. They make people think we're nerds and it's absolutely horrible. It makes me sad and angry, and if I find it offensive, thousands of people around the world will also find it offensive.
To rectify what he sees as an injustice, Teddy proposes an alternative design: a character wearing glasses with a slight smile, renamed the 'genie emoji'. The idea is to offer a positive, elegant representation of people with glasses, just as Teddy himself feels.
🧵"It's making me feel sad and upset. Apple are making it absolutely horrible for people wearing glasses."
— RNIB (@RNIB) November 30, 2023
Teddy, a ten-year-old boy, has started a petition to get Apple to change its "nerd face" glasses emoji.
Well done Teddy – we back you all the way!https://t.co/rWKwhAcMH2pic.twitter.com/H5UxGU9Xb3
A petition set up by the young boy
Teddy took the initiative of launching an online petition to encourage Apple to rethink this emoji. However, at the time of writing, his campaign has not been a resounding success, with only 939 signatures collected to date. Not sure that's enough to raise Apple's eyebrows.
In any case, and despite his efforts, the young boy is still waiting for a wider response from the public. The BBC contacted Apple for a response to the petition, but received no official comment from the company.
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This article has been translated from Gentside FR.
Source used:
BBC: Boy, 10, starts petition to get Apple to change 'nerd' glasses emoji
