Paranoia for the visually-challenged...

[Tessalicious]

I have a new paranoia (well, not that new, but today very pertinent).

What reactions do you have to people wearing glasses? Do they make more of a difference in a dancing situation than otherwise?

The reasoning behind my questions is that I normally wear contact lenses (always when dancing cos I’m vain ) but last night at one of my regular venues was unable to for the first time and so was in my glasses – and I felt that not only was I asked for dances less, but I danced badly when I did (not sure whether that was due to not being able to focus or because I felt self-conscious).

So, I’m curious about several things:

Are you drawn to people who aren’t wearing glasses more than those who are, and are you less likely to ask someone in glasses to dance?
Would it make a difference to the way you perceive someone you know well if you saw them in glasses for the first time?
Is this difference the same for men and women, or are men in glasses more acceptable than women?
Do you find it hard to dance in glasses, or was this just me?

(Sorry about the multitude of questions, but they’ve been bugging me all day, so I didn’t want to leave any out – answer as few or as many as you can be bothered to)

[Icey]

I'm blind as a bat and wear contacts. I refuse to wear my glasses other than first thing in the morning or last thing at night because I loathe them. They're horrid and I really should consider buying a new pair but I have better things to spend my money on ... like dancing .

I have managed to knock a lead's glasses off before while dancing. I was very embarrassed and apologised profusely but he was still pretty grumpy about it.

I find that my peripheral vision is better with contacts as I don't get the blurry bit outside of the frame. Seeing someone in glasses for the first time is always different but that's about it as far as I'm concerned. I'd like to try the sexy, brainy look one day with some nice specs but I don't think I'll carry it off.

[TheTramp]

Do you find it hard to dance in glasses, or was this just me?

I don't have any choice. I can't wear contact as my eyes are too sensitive (just like the rest of me!).

I guess I'm just used to it, and it doesn't bother me. And I certainly don't pick dance partners based on whether or not they are wearing glasses.

[David Franklin]

I'm very short sighted (I haven't been able to read the single big letter at the top of a sight test since about the age of 9, and my eyes are a fair bit worse now). For ages I danced wearing glasses. Because of the level of my prescription, the lenses cost several hundred pounds even before you talk about frames, and it can also take months to get new ones. So the time I got a lens broken dancing was rather annoying - I only had a hideous spare pair! For a while after that I experimented with dancing without glasses (or contacts) - uncorrected vision. It's surprisingly easy to dance like that - the hardest thing was asking people to dance, when not having a clue who they were, or, on occasion, even which gender! But floorcraft tends to suffer a bit.

The next time I broke a lens, I was booked to go on a dance holiday in a week - the optician said "no way can I get you new glasses in that time, but I could get you contacts by then". I'd always been nervous of contacts (my sister had a very bad experience with them), but it was somewhat Hobson's choice. But I found contacts the best discovery for dancing ever - particularly as I was already interested in aerials and the like!

Being as I can now compare the two, I find my peripheral vision is far better with contacts, and the fact they won't fly off when spinning or get knocked off by my partner is great. Switching between contacts and glasses, I find my depth perception gets thrown - I tend to overestimate distances on the rare occasion I dance with glasses. The one disadvantage of contacts is I find it hard to focus close up with them compared to with glasses.

Bryony is generally happy to dance with glasses, and even do aerials as long as they are ones we "know" as opposed to ones we're learning. I'm always a bit nervous when she does so though!

[dee]

I have never thought about this before probably because i don't need glasses. For me i would dance with anyone with or without glasses, with or without teeth hair of anything really. Bet you look just as lovely in glasses Tess as without them sorry to hear you had less dances sure it wasn't to do with you wearing glasses

[LMC]

I can dance in glasses, but prefer not to - at a weekender, I'll wear glasses for the workshops so I can wear contacts for the marathon freestyles without too much pain (8 h really is my limit for the dailies, I can wear monthly contact lenses for longer but am too lazy to bother with the cleaning).

I don't really register whether someone is wearing glasses unless their glasses are "new" (to me because I'm used to seeing them in contact lenses, if not new to them). So glasses certainly wouldn't put me off dancing with someone.

As an aside, does anyone else ever find themselves trying to push the bridge of their glasses up when they are wearing contact lenses, or is that just me?

[TiggsTours]

I used to hate dancing in my glasses, for a number of reasons, so always wore my contact lenses.

1. I felt more attractive, and in turn, more confident in my contact lenses.
2. They always got knocked when I was dancing, or slid down my nose.
3. I was always terrified they'd get knocked off and broken, and I wouldn't be able to get home.
4. I got asked to dance less when wearing glasses.
5. My peripheral vision was apalling in glasses, so I couldn't balance as well.

There have been lots of pscyological tests run on the way people react to people of different looks, and one I saw was about people in glasses. An amazing 90+% (can't remember exactly) reacted more positively to people without glasses. The said they were more attractive, friendly, approachable and trustworthy than people with glasses, when surveyed, they all said that it doesn't bother them either way, but clearly, sub-conciously, it does.

My suggestion to everyone is, like me, ditch the glasses, and the lenses, and have the surgery! 15 mins of scary sci-fi type stuff, a couple of hours of reasonable pain, a week of drops and feeling like you've left your lenses in too long, then its all over! Ahh, bliss.

[bigdjiver]

I have a slight bias against glasses, as they are an extra hazard for the clumsy like myself, but it is only a small bias. I can believe that they make a difference in requests. OTOH I dance with spectacled ladies every week, and I do say that I am best seen as a blur.

[TheTramp]

My suggestion to everyone is, like me, ditch the glasses, and the lenses, and have the surgery! 15 mins of scary sci-fi type stuff, a couple of hours of reasonable pain, a week of drops and feeling like you've left your lenses in too long, then its all over! Ahh, bliss.

Oh god. I wish. Now. If I could just find the £2000 lying around.....

[David Bailey]

I have a new paranoia (well, not that new, but today very pertinent).

What reactions do you have to people wearing glasses? Do they make more of a difference in a dancing situation than otherwise?

The reasoning behind my questions is that I normally wear contact lenses (always when dancing cos I’m vain ) but last night at one of my regular venues was unable to for the first time and so was in my glasses – and I felt that not only was I asked for dances less, but I danced badly when I did (not sure whether that was due to not being able to focus or because I felt self-conscious).

So, I’m curious about several things:

Are you drawn to people who aren’t wearing glasses more than those who are, and are you less likely to ask someone in glasses to dance?
Would it make a difference to the way you perceive someone you know well if you saw them in glasses for the first time?
Is this difference the same for men and women, or are men in glasses more acceptable than women?
Do you find it hard to dance in glasses, or was this just me?

(Sorry about the multitude of questions, but they’ve been bugging me all day, so I didn’t want to leave any out – answer as few or as many as you can be bothered to)

Similar story to TT - I used to wear contacts, got the laser treatment done, don't need anything at the moment. The month before my op, I had to stop wearing my lenses, so everything was a blur. But I still managed to get a few dances in.

I'd never dance in glasses - not just because of any negative reactions of other people (which, sadly, do exist to a degree), but mainly because I wouldn't feel so confident in them, so it'd hamper my dancing and self-confidence. Which, let's face it, is not something you want to do.

Having said that, I'm old and ugly - I'm fairly sure it won't be a major problem if you're, to pick an example out of the air, a young gorgeous woman.

Oh god. I wish. Now. If I could just find the £2000 lying around.....

£3K for Moorfields, if that makes you feel better. Hmmm, probably not...

[TheTramp]

Having said that, I'm old and ugly

Ditto

£3K for Moorfields, if that makes you feel better. Hmmm, probably not...

Not really

[SilverFox]

Are you drawn to people who aren’t wearing glasses more than those who are, and are you less likely to ask someone in glasses to dance?

I'd dance with you more with your glasses on. That librarian thing you've got going on works for me.

[TiggsTours]

Don't know how long ago you had it done, but things have changed a bit since then:

The month before my op, I had to stop wearing my lenses

Now its just a week

so everything was a blur. But I still managed to get a few dances in.

I couldn't even find my glasses without my glasses, unless I knew exactly where I'd put them! I had 3 spots, on my bedside table, between the alarm clock & the lamp, on the bottom right hand corner of the bed, when doing my make-up, or on top the loo, when in the shower. If someone moved them, I didn't stand a chance!

£3K for Moorfields, if that makes you feel better. Hmmm, probably not...

Or starting at £395 per eye at Optical Express, who are the leading eye surgeons in this country, dependant on prescription. As you can see, I was as blind as a bat, mine was £695 per eye. My last pair of glasses cost £300, and £220 of that was the lenses, so add on the cost of what I spent on contacts each month, and the surgery pays for itself in no time!

[Dizzy]

The reasoning behind my questions is that I normally wear contact lenses (always when dancing cos I’m vain ) but last night at one of my regular venues was unable to for the first time and so was in my glasses – and I felt that not only was I asked for dances less, but I danced badly when I did (not sure whether that was due to not being able to focus or because I felt self-conscious).

I hate wearing my glasses dancing too as I would get asked to dance a lot less and they used to fall off so much that I became scared to do any kind of lean, dip or spin in case they went flying across the room. I now wear contact lenses and see perfectly well with them and feel much more confident in dancing.

p.s. Tessa, you would look good with or without your glasses .

[Sparkles]

I'd dance with you more with your glasses on. That librarian thing you've got going on works for me.

Suddenly feel the need to wear my glasses and my hair in a bun when I next see SF .

I don't mind dancing in my glasses, but it does restrict my movements a bit because I, like the other people here, am scared of them coming off and getting broken.

Next time you wear your glasses T, come and find me and we'll have some dances - the people that didn't ask you last time don't know what they're missing out on .

[Dreadful Scathe]

Oh god. I wish. Now. If I could just find the £2000 lying around.....

optimax in Glasgow had a buy one get one free offer on when I went to get it done - £495 for both eyes. I'd be happy to go there as 2 of my friends had perfect operations there. Unfortunately my eyes are not operable, not because my eyesight is too bad (longsighted in one, shortsighted in the other) , its a problem with pressure inside. tsk. oh well I would get the op if you can though. look here for info . I was going to go for the epi-LASEK treatment (which is the simple cutting back of the cornea) after reading the LASIK possible side effects included the cornea flap falling off during strenous activity. eek!

[Dizzy]

Next time you wear your glasses T, come and find me and we'll have some dances - the people that didn't ask you last time don't know what they're missing out on .

I'll always dance with you T (as well as with you Sarah )

[TiggsTours]

optimax in Glasgow had a buy one get one free offer on when I went to get it done - £495 for both eyes. I'd be happy to go there as 2 of my friends had perfect operations there. Unfortunately my eyes are not operable, not because my eyesight is too bad (longsighted in one, shortsighted in the other) , its a problem with pressure inside. tsk. oh well I would get the op if you can though. look here for info . I was going to go for the epi-LASEK treatment (which is the simple cutting back of the cornea) after reading the LASIK possible side effects included the cornea flap falling off during strenous activity. eek!

They don't cut a flap in LASIK, they soften the cornea with an alcohol solution, so how could it fall off? Its only LASEK where they cut a flap, but its also the safest, fastest recovery time, and least susceptible to infection. Where did you hear that story? smells of scaremongering to me!

[Icey]

LASIK or LASEK - descriptions of both make me go a bit wibbly

[LMC]

I have a fairly strong stomach and I'm a First Aider - but the thought of messing about with anyone's eyes (including mine apart from sorting of contact lenses or application of make up - and I couldn't do that for anyone else) is one of the very few things which makes me whimper ...... :shudder:

*runs out of thread squeaking*