The Specs Say It All

by Amy Buchner

If "an individual’s clothing expresses meaning" and "dress and ornament are elements in a communication system" as many sociologists believe, what do Daria’s glasses say about her as a character and what do glasses communicate about their wearers in general? In the world of the cartoon, as well as in the world of fashion and everyday life, glasses are often regarded as a sign of intellect and poor social skills that distance the bespectacled from the rest of the world. Contacts are seen as an escape from the pits of "nerddom" and as an instant ticket to popularity, self-esteem and beauty. Daria helps to exploit the stereotype that many sociological studies attest. By studying cartoons alongside of statistical evidence, one finds that the visually impaired are a special group who have a unique perspective on life and are often allowed a clearer view of the world than biological 20/20 vision can provide.

In the world of cartoons, glasses are rarely seen, and when they are they usually have some symbolic meaning. Most often glasses are a sign of old age. In most cases, glasses are not seen except on "grannies" and older men. Since the elderly are not often the stars of comic books and cartoons it is difficult to find characters of importance wearing glasses. Glasses are also used to distance a character from the rest of the world, the masses of men and women who do not need corrective lenses. Although they do not appear in large numbers there are a few bespectacled supporting characters who help to perpetuate the stereotypes. Marcie from the Peanuts comic strip, Milhouse and Smithers from The Simpsons, and Mr. Peabody and Sherman of The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show are all supporting characters of higher intelligence, but none of them are leading characters. One of the few leading cartoon characters who wear glasses, besides Daria, is Clark Kent, Superman’s alter ego. His glasses are part of his disguise as a "mild mannered reporter." Clark Kent furthers the stereotype of a shy, intelligent, and distanced character. However, when he goes out into the world as a strong, handsome hero, the glasses come off.

In cartoons as well as in real life, glasses carry baggage, baggage that does not include the characteristics of strength, beauty, and popularity. Instead, studies show that "faces with spectacles are perceived as less attractive, less friendly, shyer, and meaner" but they are "perceived positively for intelligence." Other studies showed that the sex of the wearer also plays a role and that "eyeglasses on a female evoked negative affect whereas eyeglasses on a male evoked a more positive affective response." Women with glasses also are "far more likely than males to say that wearing glasses affected the way they felt about themselves" and that "wearing glasses made them feel less attractive and less physically skilled in some ways but not less intelligent."

Because of stereotypes connected with glasses, the bespectacled often encounter stigmatization and have a more difficult time socially. A study of small children showed that "first-grade children, as well as older persons, hold negative stereotypes of their peers who wear eyeglasses." These first-graders were asked to rate pictures of other first-graders for attractiveness, intelligence, conduct, sociability, and on their overall judgements; the findings showed that "there was a general negative effect on the children’s ratings of attractiveness (especially of the female stimulus persons)," sociability, and the children’s overall judgements.

These negative stereotypes can often affect the self-esteem of men and women who wear glasses. Women often feel the need to switch to contact lenses solely on the basis of looks and self-image. Ebony magazine, in a report on glasses, told the story of a 26-year-old professional who has worn contacts since the age of 17 and said that:

Her decision to forever give up glasses was based on self-esteem. "I didn’t feel pretty in them," says the young woman whose nearsightedness forced her to wear glasses as a little girl. "Back then, glasses weren’t as chic…In the sixth grade, I took off my glasses to rub my eyes, and this guy I thought was cute said, ‘You look so cute without your glasses.’ So for the next few years, from middle school through high school, I stopped wearing them. And I would be squinting my way through everything."

Glasses on women have never been popular. Dorothy Parker’s phrase "men don’t make passes at girls who wear glasses" says it all.

While glasses have not been the most popular ornament since their invention, it seems they have always been seen as a sign of intelligence. Glasses were invented in Pisa, Italy around 1275, and although most men of wealth and learning did not wear glasses it was common to see these same men painted as wearing glasses in portraits. Artist Tommaso de Modena painted portraits of the cardinals Ugone de Provenza and Nicola de Rouen in 1352 and decided to paint them wearing glasses because "nearly 100 years after their deaths—eyeglasses had become the rage among studious clergy. Artists went wild, working the icons into their portraits of notable personages. Moses, Jesus, and the Apostles all have been rendered wearing spectacles." Glasses were not as popular during the Reformation but "with the advent of the Renaissance, intellectual pursuit again became fashionable. Indeed, a pair of spectacles with plain glass lenses, a popular accoutrement of the day, allowed people with perfect vision to participate in the zeitgeist."

Glasses were tools of the intellectual and learned men at the time of their invention and so became symbols for intelligence, so why then are glasses still seen as a sign of intellect when they are now available to the masses? Studies have shown that the majority of eyeglass wearers are more intelligent and better educated. "Nearsightedness and increased intelligence may indeed go together much like, say, towel snapping and jock itch" and "myopia appears to be a genuine innate trait of more intelligent people." The stereotypical bespectacled man or woman is often called a "nerd" and is characterized by being socially inept, unconcerned with his physical appearance, unable to perform well athletically, and visually impaired. Some studies show that glasses are actually linked to intelligence and that "although wearing glasses is by no means an exclusive Nerd trait, Nerds’ characteristic myopia…may lead to…a tendency to prefer looking at the world ‘up close.’"

Daria fits into this stereotype very nicely. The opening of the show tells us that she is not much of an athlete, putting her arm out after the ball passes her is as much of a volleyball player as she will ever be. Mr. O’Neill and Mr. DeMartino, Daria’s English and History teachers, depend on Daria as the one student who will be able to answer their questions and make comments about the course of history and literature. She is a social misfit as the stereotype dictates; Daria has only one real friend, Jane. In The Daria Diaries, she describes Jane as "snide, antisocial, and resentful. Finally, a friend." The two meet for the first time in a class for students with low self-esteem. Daria and Jane make a pact to pass the class’s final exam and confront the difficulties of being different together.

The reason Daria is so different from the rest of her peers is her ability to see life as it really is; she can see life much more clearly than everyone else can. Her glasses separate her from the rest of the world, let her stand back, watch, and make comments. Her glasses magnify the way the world works. The rest of Lawndale, all non-eyeglass wearers, have nothing to distance them, and so they go through life oblivious to all the insights that Daria’s glasses allow her to see.

Daria’s glasses seem a necessary part of her character. If the show revolves around Daria’s insights into high school life, it would seem imperative that she keep her glasses, the symbol of her intelligence and distance. In an interesting twist, the writers decided to flirt with the idea of a glasses-less Daria in a recent episode entitled "Through a Lens Darkly." In a rare show of vanity, Daria attempts to shed her characteristic glasses and go bare-eyed for the majority of an episode. However, her red, itchy eyes and her pride get the best of her and she returns to wearing her glasses in the end. It seems only natural that she should choose to stay with her glasses. As Jane tells her, "The glasses are you. They’re symbolic of the whole Daria thing. ‘I wear glasses and I’m not going to apologize.’" Without her glasses, Daria wouldn’t be able to see as "clearly" as she does and her insights would disappear.

This particular episode was a fun satire and exploration of the stereotypes associated with glasses. One of the most interesting story lines involved Brittany and Kevin who, after being told by Mr. O’Neill that they need to start doing better in class, decide that glasses will be the quick and easy route to intelligence. Kevin and Brittany help set up part of the stereotype early on in a conversation with Daria:

Brittany. Daria, I like your new look.

Kevin. Yeah, you’re like practically normal…Why did you get contacts?

Daria. (sarcastically) I wanted to fit in better. I was afraid my glasses were making me too smart.

This comment helps Kevin come up with his great idea that if he just wears glasses he will instantly become smarter. Later in the episode Kevin approaches Daria and Jane in the lunchroom and tells them about his new plan:

Well, I got to thinking about what you said about glasses making you smarter Daria…and you may not believe this, but I could stand to be a little bit smarter. So I got some. You know, I don’t want to be a brain or anything, I mean I like having friends, so I got a pair without any lenses. So now I’ll be smart, but not too smart.

Kevin reinforces the symbolism that it is the lenses that create intelligence and insight. Without lenses, the glasses are of no use, and Kevin is the same as ever.

Daria first comes into contact with the rest of the world without her glasses in Mr. O’Neill’s English class. That day’s topic "happened" to be Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper. O’Neill is in the process of trying to explain that people treated both the prince and the pauper differently when they changed their outer appearances when he notices that Daria has gotten contact lenses. Just as the prince and the pauper were treated differently and not recognized because of outer appearances, Daria is unrecognizable at first to many of her teachers and fellow students and is treated with new respect. Principal Lee, when she finally recognizes "Ms. Morgendorffer," congratulates Daria for getting contacts: "Well done, you’re inviting your fellow students to get to know you a little better. You’re dropping that standoffish persona. Kudos."

Daria spends the entire episode scared that contacts will change her personality and the way that others view her. She tells Jane, "I got contacts…I hope this isn’t going to change your opinion of me. I hope you don’t think I’ve changed or compromised or become a shallow person who only cares about their looks." Before she finally agrees to get contacts, she tells her mother that she doesn’t want them because she feels that people should accept her as she is. Helen responds by agreeing with her: "They should accept you for who you are, a complex and interesting young lady worth knowing, instead of seeing your glasses and jumping to some moronic conclusion based on ridiculous stereotypes and their own ignorance." Daria looks for guidance from her Aunt Amy, who also wears glasses, and voices her concern about how people might treat her and what might happen if she suddenly changed her appearance. Amy assures her that contacts "wouldn’t change [her] personality…and wouldn’t change [her] values," but when Daria’s contacts irritate her eyes and she has to face the world in glasses again she is unable. She realizes that she is vain just like everyone else and that she likes her "new look" and so she stumbles through the day without her glasses. The realization that contacts could do this to her bothers Daria and she finally opts to stay with her glasses.

Summing up the episode, Daria tells Jane:

I know my glasses set me apart. When I look in the mirror without them I can’t see a thing, but when I put them on and look in the mirror again I think to myself, "never mind the glasses. You can see things that other people can’t. You can see better than other people."

The writers of the show save the character and the symbolism they have created by bringing Daria back into the world of spectacles. Her glasses are a deliberate way to keep her different from the rest of her peers; she is the only character who wears glasses. The glasses help keep her distant from the world and help her see what the others cannot see. Daria’s glasses are her way of communicating with the world. They say that in a world where contact lenses are available, Daria has made the conscious decision to choose glasses and combat all the associations that they carry with them. By keeping her glasses, she is accepting all of the stereotypes and is willing to deal with the misconceptions and prejudices of others.

Many of the stereotypes that hold for the wearers of glasses hold for Daria too. She is an intelligent, shy, socially challenged female who prefers reading and watching "Sick Sad World" to sports, but her glasses show that she accepts all of the ideas and misconceptions that come with her glasses. It is hard to understand why anyone would choose to deal with all the negative stereotypes that glasses bring with them, but glasses are chosen because with them comes the gift of detachment and insight that no person with perfect vision or contact lenses will ever receive.

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