Friday 22 April 2011

Do Men Who Wear Glasses...?



When you look at Clark Kent when he's working at the Daily Planet, he's a reporter. He doesn't fly through the air in his glasses and his suit. ---Gene Simmons

What’s the old adage? Do girls make passes at—? No, that’s not it. It’s Do guys make passes at girls who wear glasses? Ah, that age-old question. 

I mean, when Dorothy Parker’s famous quote hit print in 1937, Men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses, it cemented the concern in spectacle-wearing dames from that day forward. Doomed them to a life void of passes from gents. The poor Janes! Cursed for having four eyes!

Why didn’t Parker wonder if girls make passes at guys who wear glasses? Why did she single out girls to be the heiresses of that blight? I don’t suppose we’ll ever know.

But what about men who wear glasses? 

Speaking for myself, I’ll tell you in a heartbeat: I find spectacle-wearing men sexy as hell, very much so. What is the allure? 

I’ll tell you what attracts me to them, but first let tell you this…

Anyone who knows me knows I’m a big fan of silent films. And right up there with my beloved Rudolph Valentino is Harold Lloyd, the comedic genius of the silent era. His talent is unparalleled. He didn’t need sound to be funny. He didn’t need a voice to jangle my bells, to trip my little ol’ arousal switch. All he needed was that goofy grin, that nice athletic shape and…his glasses.

Yes! His glasses! The horn-rimmed spectacles that stand between me and that hidden tiger. The optical paraphernalia that promises mystery just the other side of those two circles of glass.  A terribly handsome, sexy man lurks behind those frames. 

If you don’t count Timothy from my second grade classroom—or a boss from days long past who used to ignite my then-twenty-year-old libido when he’d look at me over the rims of his reading glasses—then Harold Lloyd is the object of my first imaginary love affair with a spectacle-wearing fellow. I fell in love with the silent hunk with the manly charisma and boyish good looks the second I laid eyes on him. 

Oh, I know what you’re going to say. It’s the Clark Kent syndrome.  You’re going to tell me that I think there’s a Superman behind those specs. Nah. It’s not that. Or is it?  
You just might be right. 

I stumbled across an interesting piece about my silent film hero, and this information would not only interest Superman lovers, but Harold Lloyd fans as well. Seems that the character, Clark Kent, was based partly on Harold Lloyd. Who knew? And I found it even more interesting that Kent’s name was derived from combining the names of two actors, Clark Gable and Kent Taylor. Go figure. Did you know that? I didn’t!

So my darling Harold is a super man after all! Well, sort of.
But still. I couldn’t have known that in second grade, when I daydreamed about Timothy, when I had the most agonizing crush on him. Later, in high school, there was Michael. And Alex. Ricky. And then later, Billy.  Bill. Tom, my husband.

To me, there is something so very sensual about a man stopping to take off his glasses when it’s time to make love. There. Oh, geez, I said it. Yes. I admit it. What an exquisite, wonderfully sexy experience. You’re already excited, he’s done his preliminary work by teasing you, driving you crazy with anticipation. You’re ready for the hungry panther to make the kill—with YOU as the target.

But wait.

He pauses to pull off his glasses and, with that careful deliberation (partly not to break them, of course), folds them shut and sets them on the table. He’s ready for business. The aroused panther is ready to consume his prey, and he’s not letting that Pearl Vision Center prescription get in his way.
Come on, can you sit there and tell me that is not intensely sexy?  He’s undressing without undressing. Getting naked without even unfastening his belt. One silent gesture to signal the attack is coming. 

Oh, I never entertained sexual thoughts with Timothy in second grade. But maybe, just maybe, I sensed—even at that delicate age—the future allure those pieces of metal or plastic and glass would have on me. 

So, yes, in this girl’s book, guys with glasses do get passes. Always have. Always will. 

I can hardly cross paths with a man, any man—tall, short, dark hair, light hair, no hair—wearing glasses and NOT wonder who is behind them. Is he shy, retiring, like so many mistakenly assume just because he sports spectacles? IS he a Clark Kent, the classic powerhouse-in-frames? Or just a regular Joe with less-than-perfect vision? It’s that luscious mystery that optics-wearing men offer, a teasing door one must look beyond to find out.

To me, glasses lend a man this touch of something...what is it?...that softens without compromising masculinity. Something so touchable, so warm and comfortable which does not forfeit sex appeal, but heightens it.

So, to my darling Harold. To Timothy, Michael, Alex, Bill, Billy, and Tom—to spectacle-wearing men wherever you are, I salute you! May those who cross your path see your hidden Clark Kent!


25 Comments:

AlanChinWriter said...

This is a great post, Carol. And I couldn't agree more. There is something vulnerable about a man who wears glasses, and that can be exstremly sexy.

C. Zampa said...

Alan, I agree 100%! I, too, find it sexy as well!

Thank you for visiting!

Marie Rose Dufour said...

I agree. There is something about a man carefully taking off his glasses before he reaches for you that is incredibly sexy. It's like he is casting off his civility and unleashing something wild from inside him.

Harlie Williams said...

I think glasses are sexy and had to a little of a mystery to a man. IMO you can tell alot by someone's eyes and when a man finally takes them off, you can see straight thru to his soul.

Great post.

Harlie Williams said...

And BTW, I love Clark Kent!

C. Zampa said...

Oh, now, Marie Rose, I like that thought! Yes!
Hello, and good to see you!

C. Zampa said...

Harlie, I agree. When they take them off, it's like you get two guys in one. Sigh. This other man, this mystery guy.

C. Zampa said...

Harlie, you know, I love Clark Kent, too! Maybe even better than Super Man!

Jaime Samms said...

Hmmm...thinking back...I didn't date as many men as women before I met my hubs, but yes, come to think on it, a lot of them did wear glasses. And so does hubs. I wonder...

I have to say, Carol, I love reading your posts because your words, the way you phrase things...I always feel like I want to roll around in your prose a bit and hope a bit of it wears off on me :)

Thanks!
Jaime

Sarah Ballance said...

Oooh, the things I learn about you by visiting your blog! ;c) Great post, as always. (Gee ... way to raise the bar for the rest of us, LOL!) I'm afraid I have to settle for sunglasses because my guy doesn't wear the prescription kind, but they are still incredibly hot! And when he takes them off, he most certainly DOES mean business! *grin*

C. Zampa said...

Jaime, yes, there MUST be something about the glasses, eh?
I know, I know!
And thank you, thank you for your kind words. My head just ballooned up with pride, but it was so nice! LOL...

Thank you, my friend, who just happens to be another EXTREMELY gifted author! Hugs!

C. Zampa said...

Hey, Sarah! Oh, hey, sunglasses DO have the same effect when they take them off! You're right!

Hello, my friend and hugs!!!

Mykola ( Mick) Dementiuk said...

Hey, in my new novella The Facialist (still unpublished) an important character wears glasses that keep sliding up and down his nose. The other character find that adorable. You two better not get together haha!

C. Zampa said...

I LOVE the sound of your character with the sliding glasses, Mick! He sounds SO like my kind of guy!
Get that thing published so I can meet him!

Hello and hugs by the way!

Eric Arvin said...

Wonderful post!

Mykola ( Mick) Dementiuk said...

I turned it over to Dreamspinner yesterday, but you know my writing style, I'm sure they'll find something wrong with it. Anyway, in the end the glasses wearer isn't as adorable as he seems. Still, the hero finds a new and better lover to share to share his facial-ism. Life isn't fair but we go on..

Renee Vincent said...

I'm with you on this, C.Zampa! My husband had to start wearing glasses not too long ago (but only for driving) and I've found myself glancing over at him on many occasions in the car and thinking "Wow, how hot is he!"

When he forgets to leave them in the vehicle (on occasion) and comes into the house with them on - ooh la la! I can't help but think a sexy stranger walked in my house and is kissing me.

He looks totally different, yet the same (as if he's a distant familiarity to me) and my thoughts have been like yours: "I wonder what kind of man is behind those glasses...?" *snicker*

C. Zampa said...

Mick, good luck with Dreamspinner! They're so open minded and love fiction that pushes the envelope, which is you, my friend. And I bet they' grab your story!

So the fellow ISN'T as nice as he seems? Sure sounds interesting, though!

C. Zampa said...

Thank you for visiting, Eric!

C. Zampa said...

Renee, thank you for stopping by! I LOVE that your husband is this new, mysterious 'stranger' now with his glasses! LOL.
What is it about them? I could write and write and think and think and still never really be able to pinpoint just what it is!

But to have the hubby start wearing them after you've been married a while IS like a slightly different fellow beside you in the car!

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

I got a list, wanna see?

John Lennon
Buddy Holly
Bill Gates
Michael Cain
Norman Rockwell
Martin Luther King
Bono, U2
Ray Charles
Elvis Presley (YES)
Anthony Hopkins
Gregory Peck
Kurt Russel
Brad Pitt
Johnny Depp
Hugh Grant
Morgan Freeman
Bruce Willis
Roy Orbinson
and ...

I gotta get back to work.

Happy Easter, my dear.

C. Zampa said...

Hi, Joylene!
Yes, yes, yes, what a wonderful list! Thank you!

And..pssst...my idol Valentino also had really bad vision. They say that his sultry look was really only because he could not SEE you. LOL...And I think he may have worn glasses in private, too. Oh, the thought of that just makes me drool. LOL...

Thank you for visiting!

Fiona McGier said...

In the movie, "The Ipcress File", a spy flick from the 60s, Michael Caine plays a reluctant agent who is in a clinch with a sexy woman, and she asks, "Don't you ever take off those glasses?" (He wears the thick, black intellectual-looking kind), and he answers, "Only when I'm going to bed." She reaches over and takes them off his face...fade to black. Phew! I sweat just remembering the scene!

In one of my books, Analysis of Love, the hero is blind and wears dark glasses to cover up that his eyes aren't focusing on anything. The heroine convinces him to take them off the first time they meet, and she falls in love with their light blue color...while he feels "naked" without his glasses. Doesn't take her long to get him to take off more than his glasses!

Great post!

C. Zampa said...

That's what I'm talking about, Fiona! Exactly! Love it! Thanks for sharing that!

by Sarah Lee said...

Sorry I'm late to chime in on this conversation! This is a very interesting subject! I love men with glasses. I liked the list of them, and could probably add twenty or so of my favorites to it, too. I'll just add one that quickens my heartbeat every time I see him. James Spader. Yum. :)