History Main / NerdGlasses

[[caption-width-right:254:A must-have accessory for a nerd.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'': Randall Boggs starts out with a pretty magnificent pair of horned rim glasses in the prequel ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'' (taking place before he [[FaceHeelTurn became a villain]]) that make him look ''positively'' dorky. Unfortunately, he stops wearing them less than a minute into his first appearance because his roommate Mike Wazowski says they give away his camouflage ability. He thus spends the rest of the movie (and ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'') [[BlindWithoutEm squinting to compensate for his impaired vision]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', in the astral plane Ming's teenage self is shown to have worn thick glasses, and she had similar academic pressures to Mei.

* Before 2012, new US military recruits who reported to their respective boot camps were not allowed to wear any prescription eyewear they brought with them. Within the first week, they were prescribed a pair of durable yet unflattering thick brown specs called BC (birth control) glasses (or, alternately, [=BCDs=], for BC Devices or BCG for Birth Control Goggles). So named because wearing them in public is the surest form of birth control known to man. The official "BCD" prescription eyeglasses were changed in 2012 to a more 2012-friendly eyeglass style. In 2014, they did away with mandating official eyewear in favor of a broad permission on "conservative" civilian prescription eyeglasses for all uniforms, as long as they're not "trendy" or otherwise garish.

* Tina, the awkward oldest daughter of Bob Belcher of ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'', wears them.

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': Connie Maheswaran, a geeky friend of Steven's, initially wears large thin-rimmed glasses. She needs them due to being BlindWithoutEm, but after "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E24AnIndirectKiss An Indirect Kiss]]", thanks to Steven's healing saliva, her eyesight is restored to normal and she loses the need for them. She still wears them but without the lenses, so her parents don't get upset, but eventually explains it to them after about a year and stops wearing them entirely.

%%* Emma, the star of ''WesternAnimation/FourEyes'', wears such a pair.

* ''VideoGame/PaleoPines'': Owynn is the only community member who wears glasses, and he's a book-smart expert on dinosaurs.

** Jeff of ''VideoGame/EarthBound'' wears the classic thick square frames. They go well with his suit and bowtie and bowl cut, and he's a GadgeteerGenius ''extraordinaire'', They're also OpaqueNerdGlasses, as seen on both his clay model and sprite.

* [[AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents Marlena Gru]] of ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe'' wears cat-eye glasses as a form of ImpossiblyTackyEyewear because of their gaudy design.

[[folder:Podcasts]]
* Havi from [[Podcast/GaysInCapes QDND]] has this as one of his defining features. They're not exactly flattering on him, but his TheGlassesGottaGo transformation doesn't actually go any better.
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[[folder:Podcasts]]
* Havi from [[Podcast/GaysInCapes QDND]] has this as one of his defining features. They're not exactly flattering on him, but his TheGlassesGottaGo transformation doesn't actually go any better.

* In ''[[ComicBook/RobinSeries Robin]]'', Tim's nerdy friend Ives wears large round glasses which, when coupled with sweater vests and his tall, stringy physique, are not at all flattering. He eventually starts filling out and wearing more flattering clothes, but the glasses stay.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that nerds wear glasses. Usually ugly, unflattering glasses. There are several types of glasses that are signifiers of deeply-entrenched nerd-dom:

* ExtravertedNerd Steve Urkel from ''Series/FamilyMatters'' wears a pair of large, roundish, red glasses with thick frames.

* Ghoulia Yelps of ''Toys/MonsterHigh'', the smartest girl in school and Cleo De Nile's best friend and all-around personal assistant, wears a pair of thick, white cat-eye glasses decorated with rhinestones (though not conspicuous enough to push them into ImpossiblyTackyEyewear territory). Jackson Jekyll, half of Frankie's main love interest, also counts.

* ''VideoGame/{{Beastieball}}'''s Riley wears a classic set ever since she was a child, while also posessing an incredibly strong interest in Beastieball. She even serves as the oppenent in the game's tutorial.
* Jack wears an astoundingly huge pair of these with his HatOfAuthority in ''VideoGame/CaveStory''.

** Kim Kitsuragi has atrocious eyesight which forces him to wear big bino glasses, which he views as "mostly just cumbersome". Despite his elegant dress sense and socially insightful personality, the combination of the glasses and his Seolite ancestry leads to him getting stereotyped as AsianAndNerdy, which he is subtly defensive about. The player [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential can]] also make fun of his glasses and call him a "bino", which [[NoSell doesn't get a rise out of him]].

* WebOriginal/FortniteLoreSociety: David wears glasses and is sometimes compared to the nerd emoji in terms of general appearance.

Compare BespectacledCutie and GlassesAreSexy. You may also be interested in the other GlassesTropes.