History Main / UnwantedGlassesPlot

* Mary in ''Series/LittleHouseOnThePrairie''.

* Inverted in ''{{Daria}}'', when her mother tried to convince her to wear contact lenses instead of her glasses. She takes them out because they make her eyes itch, then goes around without them or her glasses for a while.

* ''WesternAnimation/CareBears'': A boy refused to wear his glasses because other kids told him cowboys didn't wear glasses.

** He originally went in for just the glasses, but the optometrist noticed something wrong and recommended Marge take him to another specialist. And so on, and so on, dealing with a wide variety of disorders including strep throat, flat feet, and a dry scalp.

* Also inverted in ''WesternAnimation/CowAndChicken,'' where not only does everyone think Cow looks better with glasses, but they ''[[RuleOfFunny actually make her smarter]].'' Of course, since that show had NegativeContinuity, Cow was without glasses from then on.

** He originally went in for just the glasses, but the optometrist noticed something wrong and recommended Marge take him to another specialist. And so on, and so on, dealing with a wide variety of disorders including (I believe) strep throat, flat feet, and a dry scalp.

* This trope was played out ''to the letter'' in an episode of ''Kids Incorporated'': "Best of all, I got contacts for when I'm onstage singing!" And, apparently, for every time ever, since we never see Renee in her glasses again.

* Happened to Marie in ''Everybody Loves Raymond''.
* Inverted on ''The Big Bang Theory'' when Priya has Leonard get contact lenses, but Leonard hates wearing them because he can't see as well with them in and keeps bumping into things. Also a subversion when Penny gets a pair of nerd glasses to look sexy-smart for Leonard.

* ''Smallville'' did this in a season three episode with Clark who was recovering from being briefly blind. It also functions as ''MythologyGag'' given Clark's famous [[ClarkKenting disguise]].

* Occurred in ''Arthur'', and he did indeed keep the glasses as part of his signature look.

* Seen in an episode of the ''Mr. T'' cartoon.

* ''TheSimpsons'' also took the glasses plot to its logical extreme, giving not only Bart thick glasses, but also oversized shoes and a spray that made his voice sound more nasal than usual.

* Parodied in ''Rocko's Modern Life''. Rocko almost immediately becomes far-sighted around the time that he's training for a jackhammer contest. The insurance glasses are too awkward for him, so he tries to avoid wearing them in spite of his ability suffering. When it finally comes time for the contest, he comes out without wearing any glasses, causing Heffer to panic ("He can't see anything! Watch out!"). He does perfectly, which was revealed to be because, yes, he discovered contact lenses. It's then revealed that the big hero of the jackhammer ring wears contacts as well, but only while jackhammering because "with glasses, I look like an intellectual". He demonstrates this by putting on his glasses and within two seconds, some girl walks up and asks "are you an intellectual?"

* Inverted on ''The Big Bang Theory'' when Priya has Leonard get contact lenses, but Leonard hates wearing them because he can't see as well with them in and keeps bumping into things.

* Done hilariously on ''{{Lost}}'': Sawyer develops migraines from all the reading he's suddenly doing after the crash. Jack has to go through the luggage for glasses, but turns out Sawyer needed two different lens prescriptions. He ends up with the right half of one ugly pair grafted onto the left half of a different ugly pair. Everyone has a good laugh, but it's fairly warm and fuzzy as the show goes.
* Devin in ''PowerRangersDinoThunder'' trashed his glasses on purpose because he hated looking geeky and knew the girl he liked would never give him a second look if he wore them. Ironically, a VillainOfTheWeek caused an AppliedPhlebotinum that let his inner cool guy out and let her inner nerd out, resulting in her wearing geeky glasses for a while.

* Happened to Marie in ''EverybodyLovesRaymond''.

* Variant in ''Film/{{Star Trek II|The Wrath of Khan}}''. Kirk's discomfort with his glasses is that they're a sign of his age, rather than a symbol of dorky.

* Cartman of ''SouthPark'' got glasses in the succubus episode. The doctor referenced this trope, and so stapled Cartman's glasses onto his face. Eventually he got retina transplants (courtesy of Kenny, who has just died again) and [[SnapBack it was never brought up again]].

* ''HeyArnold'' had [[AlphaBitch Rhonda Wellington Lloyd]] getting glasses and immediately losing her cool reputation, having to sit in the back of the bus with the loser kids, and generally becoming a klutz (accidentally breaking her glasses (leading to an even worse-looking tape-based repair job), trailing toilet paper under her shoe, etc.). Then she gets over her paranoia, regains her self-confidence, gets a better-looking pair of glasses, and almost seems to learn AnAesop about the nerds who had come to her rescue. Aside from one reference later on about her having since gotten contacts, it's never mentioned again.

* It may not be as universal as the fear of nerdiness and/or ridicule, but for some people (including this troper) the backlash actually comes from being extremely upset that your eyes don't work properly. The glasses remind the person of this, thus the glasses must be evil.

* Inverted in ''BluesClues,'' when the characters are all rather supportive when Blue's friend, Magenta, gets glasses, as part of a VerySpecialEpisode. However, given the presence of this trope, [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped maybe it wasn't such a bad thing to show little kids after all]].

* Variant in ''StarTrek II''. Kirk's discomfort with his glasses is that they're a sign of his age, rather than a symbol of dorky.

* Variant in ''StarTrek II''. Kirk's discomfort with his glasses is that they're a sign of his age, rather than a symbol of dorky.

* Also inverted in ''CowAndChicken,'' where not only does everyone think Cow looks better with glasses, but they ''[[RuleOfFunny actually make her smarter]].'' Of course, since that show had NegativeContinuity, Cow was without glasses from then on.

** Think about it this way: if you are worried about your friends judging you based on something as superficial as whether or not you wear glasses, are those really the kind of people you want to hang out with?
** People who are BlindWithoutEm (and therefore have to actually wear them all the time) can easily get used to wearing glasses. If someone tries to avoid wearing glasses, then not only are they hindering their vision but also prolonging the time it takes to get used to wearing glasses. If you need glasses, then pick out the your first set of frames based on comfort, not style, to help you get used to wearing specs.

** Here's a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GI_glasses link]] to TheOtherWikis article on that type of glasses. They don't look too bad...

** People who are BlindWithoutEm (and therefore have to actually wear them all the time) can easily get used to wearing glasses. If someone tries to avoid wearing glasses, then not only are they hindering their vision but also prolonging the time it takes to get used to wearing glasses. If you need glasses, then pick out the your first set of frames based on comfort, not style to help you get used to wearing specs.

** People who are BlindWithoutEm (and therefore have to actually wear them all the time) can easily get used to wearing glasses. If someone tries to avoid wearing glasses, then not only are they hindering their vision but also prolong the time it takes to get used to wearing glasses. If you need glasses, then pick out the your first set of frames based on comfort, not style to help you get used to wearing specs.

* ''HeyArnold'' had [[TheLibby Rhonda Wellington Lloyd]] getting glasses and immediately losing her cool reputation, having to sit in the back of the bus with the loser kids, and generally becoming a klutz (accidentally breaking her glasses (leading to an even worse-looking tape-based repair job), trailing toilet paper under her shoe, etc.). Then she gets over her paranoia, regains her self-confidence, gets a better-looking pair of glasses, and almost seems to learn AnAesop about the nerds who had come to her rescue. Aside from one reference later on about her having since gotten contacts, it's never mentioned again.

* Military recruits who need glasses will be issued [=BCGs=] for the duration of training. They are made more for their NighInvulnerability than fashion. [=BCG=] is [[FunWithAcronyms an acronym for]] [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Birth Control Glasses"]] as the line is that they're so unattractive that no woman has ever been known to [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean "get lucky"]] while wearing them.