History Main / GeekyGlasses

* NerdGlasses: Glasses with lenses so thick they're opaque.

* SmartPeopleWearGlasses: Showing smartness by wearing glasses.

* SmartPeopleWearGlasses: ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.

!!Please note that this trope is in the process of being moved to UnwantedGlassesPlot. Please go there for all of your unwilling four-eyes needs.

->''When you're a kid that sees through plastic\\
With a harness of elastic\\
So the girls all think you're icky\\
And the boys all think you're queer''
-->--'''John Sebastian''', "Four Eyes"

Alice learns that she needs glasses, but when she tries to wear them everyone [[TheGlassesGottaGo thinks she looks stupid]]. So she tries to do without them, but it [[BlindWithoutEm doesn't go well]]. Eventually, Alice accepts her need for glasses and people stop making fun of her as they get used to it. Instant plot!

Essentially, she starts [[BlindWithoutEm needing to wear glasses]] and is forced to cope with the potentially negative social reaction. The glasses might not actually be NerdGlasses, but that's what she thinks they are; that's what counts. Sometimes, she ends up discovering contact lenses, allowing for a complete SnapBack to how she was before. Sometimes they'll just SnapBack in the next episode with no explanation at all, which results in a serious BrokenAesop ("it's ok to wear glasses, but makes our actor less marketable").

Contrast {{Meganekko}}, where the glasses are [[NerdsAreSexy part of the appeal]], and PurelyAestheticGlasses, glasses worn specifically to look smart.

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!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Film]]
* In ''CloudyWithAChanceOfMeatballs'', Sam adopted a DumbBlonde [[ObfuscatingStupidity persona]] (and stopped wearing her glasses) after being teased for being smart as a kid, though in her flashback we only see her being taunted for wearing glasses.
-->"All the kids used to taunt me with this lame song. It wasn't even clever. 'Four eyes, four eyes, you need glasses to see-ee!'"
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature]]

* This happened to Karen in the ''BabysittersClub'' spinoff series ''Babysitter's Little Sister''. The boy who made fun of her ended up needing glasses, too.
* Ed, from ''LAConfidential'' has this about him. He can see without his glasses, but not well enough to shoot, drive, or read from a distance. But since he's climbing the social-celebrity ladder, he is told he can't be seen wearing them, so he takes them off as soon as he no longer needs them.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action Television]]
* Happened to Jan on ''TheBradyBunch''.
* 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.
* Stephanie in ''FullHouse''.
* Happened to Marie in ''EverybodyLovesRaymond''.

* 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 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.
* ''Home Improvement'' did it.
* Happened to Tony of ''MenBehavingBadly'', one of the cases where contact lenses allowed a SnapBack (but the glasses show up again as part of his new nerdy image in the last episode)
* Mary in ''Series/LittleHouseOnThePrairie''.
* Alternate timeline Carter in season 8 of ''StargateSG1'' wore them - which is odd because she never wore any nor was shown to wear contacts in the normal timeline.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Newspaper Comics]]
* ''ForBetterOrForWorse'' did this with both Liz and Elly. Being an ongoing, they eventually adapted to it, and Liz doesn't need them anymore, but early on, a few jokes were based around them. In particular, Elly squinting and holding the menu at arm's length in a restaurant, looking very peculiar. Michael asks why she just doesn't put her glasses on...and John says she thinks they make her look silly.
* Linus in ''Peanuts'' made a big deal way back when he started wearing glasses. At first partly subverted in that after a while, his glasses tended to come and go at random, until finally he stopped wearing them altogether.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Comic]]
* A double variant was done in a recent ''SomethingPositive'' storyline. Davan, who already wears glasses, has vision problems and goes to his optometrist. 1) His glasses are ancient, and so probably aren't working at their best anyway. 2) He needs bifocals. [=PeeJee=] mocks him for getting old (not being geeky), so he goes back to wearing his old glasses. His father, who wears bifocals, calls him out on it... at which point Davan notes that he's not wearing his own ''tri''focals.
* In an early ''TheOptimist'' strip, the fat kid is accidentally given [[http://the-opt.com/?p=70 a wrong prescription]] (a three strip story arc).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]
* Occurred in ''Arthur'' (and he did indeed keep the glasses as part of his signature look.)
* ''ThePowerpuffGirls'' (though that wasn't permanent, and Bubbles accepts them after they magnify her {{Eye Beam}}s to ludicrous power)
* ''HeyArnold'' had The Libby 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 An Aesop 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.
* Seen in an episode of the Mr. T cartoon.
* Cartman of ''SouthPark'' got glasses in the succubus episode. The doctor referenced this trope, and so stapled his glasses on to him. Eventually he got retina transplants (courtesy of Kenny, who has just died again) and [[SnapBack it was never brought up again]].
* ''TheSimpsons'' also took the glasses plot to its logical extreme, not only giving Bart thick glasses, but also oversized shoes and a spray that made his voice sound nasal.
** 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.
* 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 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.
* An episode of GoofTroop hit this one. Max had to wear glasses for a few weeks "from playing too many videogames", and was distraught over how nerdy he looked with them.
* In the ''JusticeLeagueUnlimited'' episode "Kid Stuff", it turns out John Stewart needed glasses as a kid, and so needs them when he's been de-aged. He uses his power ring to recreate the Urkel-esque specs, then realizes he can make them look cooler -- and turns them into a [[MythologyGag Kyle Rayner-style mask.]]
* 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 not such a bad thing to show little kids after all.]]
* Also inverted in ''CowAndChicken,'' where not only does everyone think Cow looks better with glasses, they ''[[RuleOfFunny actually make her smarter.]]'' Of course, since that show had NegativeContinuity, Cow was glasses-less from then on.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Real Life]]
* 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 no one has ever been known to "get lucky" while wearing them.
** Trust [[MilitaryBrat me]], [[NerdsAreSexy they've]] [[FetishFuel gotten]] lucky.
** Ironically, at one point when [=BCGs=] ''did'' start to be regarded as genuine FetishFuel, the Army caught on and phased them out for an even ''uglier'' set.
[[/folder]]
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* 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.

* 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 no one has ever been known to [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean "get lucky"]] while wearing them.
** Trust [[MilitaryBrat me]], [[NerdsAreSexy they've]] [[FetishFuel gotten]] [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean lucky]].

* Mary in LittleHouseOnThePrairie.

Contrast {{Meganekko}}, where the glasses are [[NerdsAreSexy part of the appeal]], and BrainySpecs, glasses worn specifically to look smart.

** At least they mentioned that you have a choice in the matter. Though why someone would keep three pairs of glasses (yellow for school, blue for special occasions, clear for...anything that wasn't either of those things?) is quite beyond my capacity.

* Mary in LittleHouseOnThePrairie

* Also inverted in ''CowAndChicken,'' where not only does everyone think Cow looks better with glasses, they ''[[RuleOfFunny actually make her smarter.]]'' Of course, since that show had NegativeContinuity, Cow was glasses-less from then on.

[[folder: WesternAnimation]]

[[folder: Western Animation]]

[[AC: Literature]]

[[AC: Live Action Television]]

[[AC: Newspaper Comics]]

[[AC: Web Comic]]

[[AC: Western Animation]]

[[AC: Real Life]]

* In an early ''TheOptimist'' strip, the fat kid is accidentally given [[http://the-opt.com/?p=70 a wrong prescription]].

* This happened to Karen in the ''BabysittersClub'' spinoff series ''Babysitter's Little Sister''. OrSoIHeard, anyway. The boy who made fun of her ended up needing glasses, too.