How glasses became the norm — and what it teaches us about inclusion

When I meet someone new, I’m often aware that the first thing they notice is my disability. They see my wheelchair, and they wonder what’s “wrong.”

I’m also aware that people don’t have this reaction to every kind of disability. 

Think for a moment about the last time you met someone who wore glasses. You probably didn’t wonder about their specific refractive error - whether they had myopia (nearsightedness), hypermetropia (farsightedness), presbyopia (age-related farsightedness) or astigmatism. And you probably didn’t question whether their vision impairment affected their ability to do their job.

You probably just noted - That person wears glasses - and moved on.

Glasses have become so commonplace that most people don’t think of them as assistive devices.

Of course, wearing glasses didn’t always have this invisible acceptance. Over time, they evolved from medical tools into everyday accessories. However, their history tells us something important: when we normalise inclusion, we focus on meeting people’s needs - instead of their perceived limitations - and disabilities become almost invisible. As meeting people’s needs becomes the expectation instead of the exception, stigma fades and cultural perceptions shift.

Seeing clearly: A brief history of glasses

Humans have been experimenting with ways to improve vision for centuries. Ancient scholars like Ptolemy and Alhazen laid the groundwork for modern optics, studying how light and lenses worked. By the 10th century, people used reading stones - small, polished glass domes placed over text - to help with farsightedness. But it wasn’t until the late 13th century in Italy that spectacles first appeared.

These early versions were simple: two lenses connected by a bridge, often attached to a chain, and designed to be held by hand or pinched onto the nose. By the 14th century, they were being manufactured in Venice, thanks to the high-quality glass produced nearby on Murano. Within a century, they had spread across Europe, particularly among monks, scholars and scribes. By the mid-15th century, lenses correcting nearsightedness had also arrived.

Technology continued to advance. In the 1700s, Benjamin Franklin - who had both myopia and presbyopia - invented bifocals so he didn’t have to switch glasses to read.  The modern style of spectacles, with arms hooking over the ear, debuted in 1727, making it more practical to wear glasses while moving around. In 1825, first lenses to correct astigmatism were developed in England.

Seeing but not seen: Glasses and social stigma

Unfortunately, technology moved faster than acceptance. In the 18th and 19th centuries, in most cultures, glasses weren’t worn openly except by those in scholarly or clerical circles, where they signalled intelligence and respectability. In broader society, they were less common - partly because they weren’t affordable, but also because men worried glasses made them look weak or old.

Napoleon, for instance, is said to have refused to wear glasses except to the opera, even though he clearly needed them. By contrast, George Washington famously put on his glasses while addressing officers on the verge of mutiny. Before reading a document, he reached into his pocket for his glasses and said, “Gentlemen, you must pardon me. I have grown grey in your service and now find myself growing blind.” The gesture, more than the speech, disarmed the group. They’d never seen him wear glasses before and were moved by his vulnerability.

For women, the stigma was even greater. Wearing spectacles was acceptable in private - for tasks like reading or sewing. But in public, glasses were considered unattractive and unfeminine. Wearing them openly risked social humiliation for failing to maintain the expected appearance of a lady.

So, like always, women adapted. 

In the late 1700s, lorgnettes became popular - small spectacles attached to a handle, designed to be held up to the face rather than worn. Decorative and elegant, lorgnettes became both fashion accessories and props in high society’s social games. By the 1800s, wealthy women commissioned lorgnettes made with gold, pearls, diamonds and precious stones. Vision support had become more acceptable - not because the need had changed, but because the packaging had.

A shift in sight: From awkward to iconic

Then, in the 20th century, things slowly began to change. 

Public education expanded. Literacy rose. The growing demand for glasses, coupled with mass production, helped bring costs down. Gradually, stigma gave way to function - and then, to fashion.

In the US, President Theodore Roosevelt, whose eyesight was permanently damaged in a boxing match, wore his glasses regularly in public and photographs. In Britain, professional cricket player Tim Killick began wearing glasses continuously from 1897. Silent film star Harold Lloyd brought lensless glasses to the screen, making them the trademark of his resourceful, comedic character.

Society took longer to accept glasses as fashionable for women. Poet Dorothy Parker captured this ongoing stigma in her 1926 two-line poem: “Men seldom make passes / At girls who wear glasses.”

However, the 1950s brought plastics, making glasses cheaper, lighter and more colourful. Marilyn Monroe began wearing glasses publicly, helping popularise them. In How to Marry a Millionaire, she famously plays a character who refuses to wear her glasses around men - even though she can’t see clearly - until she meets, and ultimately marries, a man who wears them himself and encourages her to do the same.

Musicians like Buddy Holly, John Lennon and Janis Joplin gave glasses a “cool” factor. By the 1970s, funky designs and oversized frames were everywhere, and glasses had become counterculture statements of personal identity as much as optical aids. 

Styles continued to evolve. New materials and manufacturing techniques made trendier glasses more accessible - even for children. Somewhere along the way, glasses stopped being something to hide - and started being something to show off.

​​By the 1990s, prescription glasses were used for both vision correction and fashion accessories In the early 2000s, lensless frames became popular, especially in Asia. Today, fashionable eyewear - including zero-power lenses - is a booming market. Some children now ask for glasses purely for fun or self-expression.

From exception to expectation: When everyone wears glasses

One reason glasses have become so common is that the more people wore them, the more normal they seemed - and the more normal they became, the more comfortable others felt wearing them.

Globally, more than 2.3 billion people live with refractive errors like myopia, hyperopia, presbyopia or astigmatism. 

Myopia - or nearsightedness - is now the most common eye condition in the world. By 2050, it’s expected to affect nearly 40% of the world’s population. The World Health Organization predicts that within the next decade, the number of people with myopia will grow by another 800 million, with much of this growth occurring among children as the result of increased screen time, indoor lifestyles and limited exposure to natural light.

As the need has grown, the world has adapted. Businesses have seen an opportunity to meet an unmet need, and innovation has followed.

Today, the global spectacles market is worth about USD 122 billion and projected to grow significantly - to around USD 214 billion by the early 2030s. 

While rising prescriptions drive much of this growth, other factors also play a role. People aren’t just buying glasses to see better; they’re buying them to look better. Consumers often buy multiple pairs to match a mood or an outfit. And a growing number don't need vision correction at all. Fashion glasses - with zero-power lenses - have become a booming industry in their own right.  What started as a medical necessity has become a statement of style and personal expression.

What if we treated all disabilities like this?

When a child struggles to see the board at school, most parents don’t panic. 

They don’t think, “Oh no, my child is visually impaired.”
They think, “My child needs glasses.”

They book an eye test, get a prescription and buy their child a pair of glasses.

Suddenly, the child has fewer headaches, squints less, focuses better and learns more.

The story becomes about what the child needs to succeed - not what they lack.

That narrative shift changes everything. When we normalise having different abilities - when we focus on providing everyone with the practical support they need to succeed - accommodations stop being a big deal. They become a part of everyday life.

The normalisation of glasses took centuries. But the story of glasses shows us something important: the value of meeting people’s needs rather than fixating on their perceived (dis)abilities. 

Inclusion isn’t about fixing people; it’s about creating a world where everyone has what they need in order to succeed. When we meet people’s needs without stigma, we don’t just remove barriers - we fuel innovation, change culture and create a world that’s better for everyone.