Jun

20

The Ultimate Eyeglasses/Sunglasses Stereotype List

Filed Under Fun with Eyewear, Sunglasses Trivia 


In light of the recent reemergence of a wide array of fashionable and chic glasses and shades, I began to consider the various stereotypes associates with wearing glasses. Below is a list that is not intended to be comprehensive. Glasses are not just for scientist anymore, and contacts are not the ‘saving grace’ they were in the early 1990s. People in need of glasses have embraced vision-correction implements and made them fashionable accessories. Let’s consider the most common stereotypes.

The Intelligent stereotype. By far the most common stereotype associated with eyeglasses is that of inherent intelligence. Teachers, librarians, scientists and computer programmers are all linked with the wearing of corrective frames—and indeed it adds to their legitimacy. The every sexy evening talk show host Steven Colbert, of the Colbert Report, hides his subtle sexiness behind professional and modern frames. In attempting to match the intelligent and conservative persona that this stereotype refers to, he reinvented it and made it cool.

The Geek stereotype. Piggybacking on the stereotype of the inherently intelligent is the stereotype of the inherently hopeless– at least fashion wise. Let’s take a gander at the America’s biggest three geeks- Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Bill Gates. All wear frames, all are millionaires and, not surprisingly, all are pale, thin and appear to be wearing toupees. Glasses are only one part of the stereotype, though as necessary and indispensable as too-high socks and pocket protectors.

Yet, for all the oddities geek’s posses, these three famous American geeks have made geekiness fashionable! Look at the entertainment industry: Napoleon Dynamite, the band Weezer, and even the recently released Juno give praise to the geek image. The modern American hero has transformed form John Wayne and Steve McQueen to heroes like Orlando Bloom—quite obviously not the beer-drinking, truck-driving bad ass of yesteryear. Perhaps the most obvious proof of this Hollywood transformation was in Die Hard IIII, where Bruce Willis, the ultimate man’s man, was paired with an effeminate computer programmer who cried and fretted and was friends with a basement dwelling goth-nerd.

Even massive corporations have capitalized on the geek-chic frenzy; Best Buy leads the exploitation of geeks with their establishment of the Geek Squad, a group of men and women with black pants, white shirts, black ties and glasses. Experts with credit lent to them through the geek stereotype.

Icon makers. How many icons can you think of that use glasses as a key identifier and as a key image for their personality? Elton John can only be accurately pictured in his famous thick white frames, or his modern square fashionable and trendy shades. Roy Orbison, another music legend, was constantly and mysteriously shielded by his dark black frames—even on stage! The same can be said of Ozzy Osborne—and image that is only complete with dark frames. Nirvana’s second album cover pictures the sorely missed star behind white bug-eyed large glasses—a fashion that defies fad.

Mysterious and Sexy Men. Picture Tom Cruise in Risky Business in only his white button down shirt and dark shades. Or, picture him in his rowdy and uncontrollable bad-boy character in Top Gun. He was the epitome of 1980’s cool. Little has changed in the last twenty years. Sexiness is still inaccessible, thus its allure. It remains partially hidden behind dark shades. Picture Keanu Reeves as Neo in the Matrix series, bas-ass leather, ultimate control and, to top of the image, once he realizes he was ‘the one’ he appears on screen clam, collected and decked out in modern shades.

Edgy and Capable Women. Of course the most obvious bespectacled female icon would be Angelina Jolie, who is never caught off the set without face-covering shades, nor is her partner Brad Pitt. Lucy Liu makes dark shades cool in any film. Her composure alone is sexy, but hiding her captivating powerful gaze behind the frames only encourages whatever onscreen foe she is about to defeat. Whippy Goldberg is another icon in Hollywood who is rarely caught without an interesting and chat-worthy pair of frames. Indeed that adds to her edginess.

Innocent and Adorable Gals. On the other end of the spectrum, fashionable women everywhere have revived the1960’s bug-eye frame fad. I think a large part of the attraction to bug-eye glasses is their similarity to Menga and Anime characters– sexy nymphs with larger-than-life innocent eyes. Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen are rarely without their bug-eye frames. Of course they are young and beautiful, but they also hold claim to a legacy of innocence and an image of cuteness.

 Hey, not all stereotypes are bad! I think this list alone proves that glasses are not only cool, but build a persona, create an image of the self that is marketable and can fit into any group, and are a trend that is sure to last. 

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