March 2017

Style-Eyes
Gender diversity and
eyewear
How would you feel if people refused to
acknowledge who you are and talked
to you like your own identity didn’t
matter?
In the past few years, transgender, gendernon-conforming
and non-binary people have
had a lot more presence in the media and
popular culture. While this exposure has
sometimes lead to greater understanding,
often this doesn’t feed through to the everyday
experiences of our transgender friends.
When I was studying to become an optical
dispenser last year, a transgender friend
told me a story about a recent experience of
shopping for glasses. She is a transwoman
and while browsing for new specs, the shop
assistant made an assumption about her
gender. My friend was looking at the practice’s
selection of women’s eyewear when the
assistant approached without even asking how
she was and told her that the men’s eyewear
was on the other side of the shop. She left
feeling insulted and upset.
How can you make trans and gendernon-conforming/non-binary
people feel
safe and welcome in your shop?
A lesson for all of us who deal with the public is
to never assume anyone’s gender.
Appearances, clothing and accessory choices,
mannerisms and more may make us read
people as men or women because most of
us have spent our whole lives living with an
understanding that there are only two genders.
However, we are beginning to understand there
are many genders, not just men and women.
We need to compassionately approach every
stranger we deal with as an individual.
Here’s what we’ve done in some of the
shops where I’ve worked
• We don’t separate frames by conventional
gender.
• If anyone asks, I tell them that all of our
frames are unisex.
• If anyone is uncomfortable with that or
still confused, I tell them that there are some
BY JO EATON
frames that are more conventionally feminine
and masculine and, if they like, I can help
them find the right frame to suit their style
and personality.
• I try to use non-gendered language when
referring to a group of people. Instead of
saying, “How are you guys doing today?” I say,
“How are you all today?”
• Be considerate when entering people’s data
into your practice software. Many practices
collect titles and gender. If your software
allows this, perhaps you could turn off the
mandatory collection of this information.
I asked another friend - bespectacled
transgender woman and musician, Simona
- what she would recommend and she said,
“The idea that glasses or clothing - fashion - is
gendered is something we need to unlearn.
Anybody should be able to come into a shop and
look at any piece to try on. It’s the staff’s job not
to judge about the gender of both the customer
or the merchandise. When we do that, we stop
focusing on identity and gender altogether and
the store becomes a place where people are free
to look at whatever they want.”
Get talking with your colleagues
There are plenty of great resources online that
you can share with your colleagues.
For a quick 101 about gender and
terminology, I’d direct you to http://tiny.cc/
gender101. It’s a fact sheet called ‘Inclusive
Language Guide Respecting people of intersex,
trans and gender diverse experience’ and is by
the National LGBTI Health Alliance in Australia.
If you would like to learn more start with
this video, ‘An Introduction to Judith Butler’s
Gender Troubles: www.youtube.com/
watch?v=Z7M6kD5Qt5M
Use it to start discussions about what most
of us have been brought up to believe about
gender.
Want to talk about this? I’d be happy to hear
from you. Email me at jo@eyeheartglasses.
com ▀
Stars and their eyes:
Johnny Depp
The 53-year-old Hollywood actor Johnny
Depp is one of the most recognisable faces
of stage and screen – and not in the least
part because of his infamous tinted glasses. As it
turns out, they’re not just a style choice.
“I’m blind as a bat in my left eye,” admitted
the Pirates of the Caribbean star in a Rolling
Stone interview in 2013. He is also myopic in
his right eye. Depp says he’s suffered from sight
problems since birth and has had to rely heavily
on prescription glasses.
“Everything is just very, very blurry. I’ve
never had proper vision,” he explained, noting
that when he is acting a role, like Edward
Scissorhands, it’s not always possible to
wear glasses and he often can only see a few
centimetres in front of his face.
* Jo Eaton is a native Wellingtonian, now working as a
qualified DO in Melbourne. She runs eyewear fashion blog,
eyeheartglasses.com
Fashion update
As Europe’s fashion houses gear up for the northern hemisphere’s spring/
summer season, New Zealand is benefitting with an influx of versatile, up
to the minute styles.
Fleye
On display at Munich’s OPTIfair in January, Fleye
revealed its innovative new designs inspired by
the Canadian interior and furniture designer, Zoë
Mowat.
“With her intuitive exploration of color and
texture [she] adds a touch of ‘Modern Bauhaus’
to the Fleye SS17 collection,” said the Fleye team.
The Copenhagen-based fashion eyewear brand
has gone for an art deco meets industrial theme,
with beautiful angular detail set in metallic and
hardwearing frames.
Distributed direct from Fleye Australia (see the
2017 OIG for contact).
Jono Hennessy
Closer to home, Australian brand Jono Hennessy
has released a selection of new and exclusive styles
in anticipation of Silmo Sydney. Also combining
acetate and bold, colourful prints with quality
metal framework and design, many of these
limited edition styles are produced using pure fabric
laminated in cellulose acetate with an interlayer
formulation developed with Mazzuchelli in Italy in
the 1980’s. Distributed by Phoenix Eyewear.
MORE CLASSIFIEDS ON PAGE 28
WORK AS YOUR
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Radley from Inspecs
The London-based fashion accessories firm
revealed its new collection in February, which
focuses on little luxuries and stable pieces that
can morph from work into the weekend. Using
prints lifted directly from the Radley design
palette, expect “floral torts, layered berry
tones and vintage inspired caramel,” says the
London team. Distributed by Phoenix Eyewear.
Blackfin
Also going for an industrial look with a splash
of colour, the Blackfin Lamina PLUS range is
making its debut. The brand’s usual, high-end
titanium frames have been accentuated with
acetate – a new material for Blackfin – offering
a quirky and lively take on classic designs.
The acetate is ultra thin and hand-worked to
offer a style note without compromising on
quality, says the promotional material. The
name PLUS will now be used by Blackfin to
describe all models in which their hallmark
titanium is combined with other materials to
add diversity and choice. Distributed in New
Zealand by Beni Vision.
26 NEW ZEALAND OPTICS March 2017
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