I am a glasses wearer. Have been, and probably will be until I get over my freakish aversion to sticking things in my eye (aka never). Of course, there is a social stereotype that goes along with glasses: intellectuality, a scholarly air...or just plain nerdy.

However, it is only in manga that I ever encounter the idea that glasses = UGLY. I mean, you would think that two pieces of glass wouldn't do much to detract from a person's looks, right? (More thoughts on the matter in the following blogpost: Megane-Change! at http://mangameditation.blogspot.com)

So what do you all think? For heroines (or heroes) in manga, are glasses indeed beauty masking evils, or innocuous, ordinary accessories? Do they make characters seem nerdy, glamorous, smart, or cold?

~Polecat

________________
For alacrity and effulgence in all things manga: http://mangameditation.blogspot.com

Most of the time I find when they try the "Glasses to hide the beauty" They do try use big ugly looking glasses to do so. rarely do I see glasses in manga that are stylish in my opinion. They are seen occasionally though.

Actually, I personally notice the opposite. In most Western media, especially movies, glasses do represent ugliness. There's never a clumsy, awkward, unpopular girl that doesn't wear glasses, and she'll never keep them on when she gets her Cinderella transformation. The only attractive Western character type that wears glasses is the "sexy librarian", and that kind of character is meant to be sexy despite how she dresses. Plus, they only ever wear those skinny glasses that are sexy anyway.

Meanwhile, in manga glasses can often be the whole draw of a character. A harem isn't complete without a shy meganekko. A reverse harem, meanwhile, isn't complete without a tall, stoic megane danshi. What really stands out is that these characters usually wear big, round, typically unfashionable glasses. You could say it's because the eyes are so big and round the glasses had to be made to fit, but if you turned these people real and transported them to a typical American high school, they'd probably get covered in marker right away.

I've read more than one anthology devoted to glasses. The glasses fetish must be huge in Japan.

I agree with akari_mizunashi. Glasses seem to be quite attractive based on what I've seen. There are quite a few shoujo about girls who go for guys with glasses. I've seen the reverse as well. Yes, glasses are still used to show ugliness or nerdiness in many stories, but the glasses fetish is something I've found to be rather unique in anime and manga.

________________
[Url=http://goo.gl/WMSVJ] k'><u>Looking for... shoujo with a canned peach confession.</u></a><!--url_type_2_end--><BR><!--url_type_2--><a href='<!--Auto_parse_begin--><a target='_blank' rel='nofollow' href='http://www.antimoon.com/how/pronunc-soundsipa.htm''><u>http://www.antimoon.com/how/pronunc-soundsipa.htm'</u></a><!--Auto_parse_end--> target='_blank'><u>Don't English Me I'm Panic</u></a><!--url_type_2_end--><BR><!--url_type_4.5--><a href='<!--Auto_parse_begin--><a target='_blank' rel='nofollow' href='http://www.mangaupdates.com/showtopic.php?tid=3839'><u>Guess'><u>http://www.mangaupdates.com/showtopic.php?tid=3839'><u>Guess</u></a><!--Auto_parse_end--> the Manga/Anime Name</u></a><!--url_type_4_end--><BR>'Shojo manga has no boundaries, and never did!’ -Shimizu Reiko, Himitsu - Top Secret fanbook interview

I've seen glasses to be used for the attractive male role in manga many times so far and IMO the "unattractive and ugly" tag that comes with glasses is fading away. Generally in -older- shoujo manga I see the "transformation" of unattractive female characters and yes, before with glasses, after, without. A perfect example of this kind of transformation is in the popular anime/manga Ouran High School Host Club with the main protagonist. I won't go into details but basically the main character is actually attractive but her glasses "hid" her beautiful face.

I've personally seen much more male characters with glasses being represented as glamourous and idol-like than females. IMO it seems that when females wear glasses there's a much higher chance they'll be seen as nerdy/ugly than males who are generally represented as being intelligent/attractive/idol-like.

I however, think differently to the poll. I personally find both "nerdy" (more precisely intelligent) people and glasses attractive.

Black-rimmed rectangle shaped lens glasses are also recently popular within Asian culture and especially with males just to add xD

If you want a sexy villian, then HELL YEAH! But when they remove their glasses, it just makes them even sexier.

________________


*__* I'll have what she's having... please~♥

Totally indifferent.
The same as with people IRL.
The glasses just fuse with the head.
If they've been worn all the time, it looks
weird when one is without them.

i think that the title of this thread portrays Hellsing exactly
everyone wears glasses. and they make the story so very much more evil. imagine if Alucard never wore glasses... not the same

Really depends on the person, on some people it's sexy as can be, on others it's awful...

Exactly.

Personally, I'm more attracted to women who wear glasses than ones who don't. I guess it just boils down to people's tastes.

________________

Really, glasses have been moving more in the direction of genre or a particular fetish. Some people find them very attractive, and some people don't. Lately, this has been holding true in manga as well. Maybe not in shoujo, though...

Last edited by x0mbiec0rp at 7:40 pm, Oct 3 2009

________________
This signature was recovered from Hades to serve in my rotting armies.

I don't find them to be ugly at all. Actually, I generally like them. I guess I think glasses make someone more attractive. But yes, like most of the other posts, I do see the correlation between glasses and 'ugliness' in manga and other mediums.

________________

i like guys with eyeglasses XD I like smart guys!

me wear glasses too to make myself look older (read: mature) and smarter... well, not necessarily that I am really dumb like dumb in Paris Hilton... but yeah, I just feel that I will be so vulnerable without these glasses.

________________
Help! I'm looking for... manga with dangerous guys http://www.mangaupdates.com/showtopic.php?tid=39874&pa ge=1#post594033

I love glasses. I've been wearing them for my whole life and have not intention of switching to contacts.

In fact, one of my real-life "turn ons" is glasses. I usually associate them with "geeky/nerdy," which in my opinion, is attractive. Of course, they need the face for it too.......

________________

its alright there some characters that need them...
some characters who look good in them like Kyouya.. Ouran High School Host Club...
some need it to look pathetic like that guy from Love Hina...
yeah variation makes the world go round...

________________
oh please do click this!
The sweeter the apple, the higher the branch. The quieter the fart, the nastier the smell.
GUESS WHO??