As you know, I’m currently hosting a month-long celebration of Girls Who Wear Glasses in honor of the bespectacled heroine of One Good Earl Deserves a Lover. Today, I’m super excited to get the male perspective on ladies in lenses…the fabulous Barry Lyga is joining us to talk about his favorite girl in glasses.
Barry’s a star…there isn’t one of his books that I don’t love — from Boy Toy to Goth Girl Rising to his terrifying I Hunt Killers. And while we disagree on some superheroes — one thing that we can agree on is that Wonder Woman is pretty awesome.
Take it away, Barry!
What is the appeal of a Girl in Glasses?
Somewhere along the way, our culture decided that glasses = smart. There are a spate of reasons for this, and I won’t go into them. Just accept it.
More recently, our culture decided that glasses are also a complement to a superhero’s secret identity. It started with Superman and Clark Kent, of course, but check out the movie versions of Batman (the Michael Keaton series), Iron Man, and Spider-Man. Glasses everywhere! Even on heroes ― like Iron Man and Batman ― who never, ever wore them in the comics.
Even Wonder Woman is not immune:
I’m tempted to leave it at that: An image of the inimitable Lynda Carter, decked out as Wonder Woman’s alter ego, Diana Prince, right down to a pair of 70s-era cheaters.But Sarah would want me to say more. So I will.
Here’s the thing: You’d think Wonder Woman, the Amazing Amazon, wouldn’t need anything more on her side than her obvious charms in order to win the hearts, minds, and, er, interest of boys and men everywhere. You’d be wrong.
Because a strong girl? Is hot.
A chick who can wrestle you down and make you tell the truth? Is cool.
But a smart woman?
Is sexy as hell.
***
I. Love. This. Post.
Thanks to Barry for stopping by to celebrate Girls Who Wear Glasses…let’s take a moment to talk favorite female superheroes! Who did you want to be (or be with?!) when you were a kid? (Oh, who am I kidding…what I wouldn’t do for a lasso of truth now!)
Share in comments for a chance to win Barry’s latest — I Hunt Killers!
February 5th, 2013 at 11:41 am
Love love love Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman! Brings back such memories from my childhood. Not that this has anything to do with her glasses (aside from the fact that my mother wore glasses just like that too), but growing up, my dad used to tell me and my older brother that our Mom was Wonder Woman. Well my brother believed him and once bet a friend $5 that our Mom was the super heroine! It didn’t work out from my brother, but didn’t help that my Dad wouldn’t back up the bet when push came to shove! I’ve worn glasses since junior high school and my mom has since I can remember… I’ve grown to know that my mom really is Wonder Woman, I can only aspire to be so someday and we’re both sexy as hell :) Thanks for the post and the bit of nostalgia, Barry!
February 5th, 2013 at 12:54 pm
Hilarious story, Maggie…Every mom has a little Wonder Woman in her…I’m laughing as I imagine your poor brother looking up at your dad *certain* he would pronounce your mom a super heroine! xox
February 5th, 2013 at 11:43 am
I loved his comment, there is something that got crossed over into glasses=smart and i’m okay with that. its like now glasses=sexy? which is still okay but so funny in a odd way. When did geek become hot? Excuse me while i follow that bandwagon for what its worth!
My favorite superheroes when i was a kid were black cat and catwoman. I loved the idea of being one step ahead of the “good guys” and bad guys. Tripping up the super boys like peter parker and bruce wayne would have been a crowned victory. I loved how these women constantly walked the edge between evil and good. You could look up to them because they were independent, yet sexy. That and who wouldn’t want to tango with batman or spiderman on a nightly basis? I meant fighting wise but you get the idea!
February 5th, 2013 at 12:56 pm
I don’t know when glasses became sexy, Jennifer…but I am not sorry for it!
I was a catwoman girl, too! I loved the idea that girls could be bad, too. Maybe because villains seemed to have so much more power when we were kids? Who knows. Either way….Meow. :)
February 5th, 2013 at 12:41 pm
I love wonder woman. :) I thought that Lynda Carter plays her as a smart woman and I love that!
February 5th, 2013 at 12:56 pm
Me too, May! Thanks for coming over to chat!
February 5th, 2013 at 12:49 pm
I love this post, Barry! My dad met Lynda Carter once (she was, inexplicably, at one of his meetings when he was in the Navy, ages ago). Apparently, she’s just as tall, curvy, and fabulous in person as she was on TV. Which reminds me…I need to rewatch this series with my kids!
February 5th, 2013 at 12:58 pm
Oooh. Meeting Lynda Carter must have been a huge thing! And I love the fact that she was just hanging out at the Navy’s offices! So fun! Your dad must have dined out on that for ages, Veronica!
Thanks for coming over to play…we’ll see you for your Girls Who Wear Glasses post later in the month!
February 5th, 2013 at 3:04 pm
Thanks, Veronica. I am incredibly jealous of your father. :)
February 5th, 2013 at 4:12 pm
I liked Wonder Woman.
February 10th, 2013 at 4:09 pm
I wanted to be Wonder Woman!