Nerd Glasses?!

[tearless2]

I was shopping at a Halloween costume store today and saw this lovely accessory -- "nerd glasses" (I swear that's what the package said) -- and I just have to vent. I hate wearing glasses, I feel very unattractive in them. This costume just makes me feel really bad about having to wear glasses. I'm even looking into wearing custom moisture chambers like Saag's.

Why are glasses associated with nerdiness? Is there some gene connecting intelligence, poor social skills, and discoordination with myopia? It's no wonder people want lasik and are wearing contact lenses at such a young age. Our culture needs a change of attitude ...

[jenny2008]

there will always be Nerd glasses.. ha ha.. seriously i wear glasses (mostly i live in my sunglasses cause i have to) but anyway,, even celebrities are wearing them now.. i watch a lot of soaps and even on soap operas i see several characters-women too-wearing them.. it is instlye now to wear them..

if you find a good frame for your face you can be just as attractive in glasses as without..

[spmcc]

RE: glasses

How about a Halloween costume of the Sexy Librarian (wearing glasses)?

[calli66]

Glasses---cultural perceptions

The thinking is this: people who do lots of reading, or who are academic/scientifically minded, spend so much time at close-work that their eyes become weak and ill-adapted to seeing at a distance. So they must wear glasses.

In the old days, only a small percentage of younger people needed to wear glasses, and because the design and construction of glasses was based on function, not aesthetics, the appearance was thick, mechanical, clunky, and ugly.

There have even been studies that show that people who wear glasses are perceived as being "more intelligent" than those who don't. Unfortunately, glasses-wearers haven't been stereotyped as "beautiful and sexy" (except for glasses fetishists).

Speaking of glasses fetishists: they perceive glasses-wearing (especially thick glasses) as being sexy, because the somewhat hidden or veiled eyes lends "mystery" and a sense of "other" to the allure. There is also an typical fantasy of vulnerability---what dynamics might ensue when the glasses come off? See where this is going?

I just wanted to point out one of the many over-looked perceptions regarding glasses-wearing---in addition to the NERD one.

Calli

[Lucy]

I wore glasses from the time I was 7 years old until lasik 10 years ago. Never mind how long it is inbetween. A long time. In elementary school, kids used to call us "4-eyes" but that's about all I remember. Other kids were called "Fatty." That probably wouldn't fly these days in school, but it really didn't hurt me. (I don't know about Fatty.) I think everyone was called something.

I must say as I got into high school and later, I never felt ugly--even with -10 diopter glasses. Yes, I knew they were thick and other people probably called me Coke Bottles, but I was secure enough that it didn't bother me. I used makeup lightly, but applied carefully, stayed well groomed and I was as nice looking as anyone else.

After Lasik, I always felt "naked" without my glasses. I didn't need to worry because within a few weeks, I was into glasses again and have had several pair since. Lucy