LANDMARK RULING, CASE NO. 17: TEAM SHADES V. TEAM EYE CONTACT
Is it rude to wear sunglasses indoors?
Usually, yes: it is rude to wear sunglasses indoors without a reason, because people want to see your eyes when you talk, and etiquette advice says to take them off inside. The big exception is medical, such as migraine light sensitivity or recovery from eye surgery, and that is never rude. Judge Whiskerton rules the shades come off unless your eyes have a doctor's note.
Team Shades is guilty of causing an indoor eclipse.
Sentence: Take off the shades indoors, unless a doctor objects, and let the room see your eyes.
The case for Team Shades
Team Shades has a better case than its critics admit, because bright indoor light can hurt. Migraine Canada says light sensitivity, called photophobia, is common in migraine. It adds that ophthalmologists, optometrists, and other health providers sometimes prescribe tinted lenses to help with indoor glare. One rose-colored tint, FL-41, was first developed to ease eye discomfort under fluorescent lighting.
Eye surgery is another good reason. All About Vision, in an article medically reviewed by a doctor, says eyes are hypersensitive right after cataract surgery and that sensitivity can last four weeks. You typically do not need sunglasses indoors during recovery, it says, but they can help if your eyes feel light-sensitive in a bright room.
Even the etiquette side agrees on the exception. Etiquette expert Diane Gottsman says to take sunglasses off indoors unless you have a medical condition that requires you to avoid strong light. A common summary of European manners makes the same exception for religious or medical reasons, such as light sensitivity.
The case for Team Eye Contact
Team Eye Contact's argument is about faces. Gottsman writes that being able to look someone in the eye is an important part of communicating, and that in conversation people will not listen to you as easily when your eyes are hidden. Her rule is short: take your sunglasses off indoors.
The custom is not just American. Among many Europeans, for example in the United Kingdom, wearing a hat, other head covering, or sunglasses indoors is often considered impolite, especially in churches, schools, private homes, and respected public institutions.
Even the medical side has a warning for Team Shades. Migraine Canada says that although it is tempting to wear sunglasses inside, doing so might make a person more sensitive to light over time. So dark glasses indoors may not be the comfort move they seem, and the group points to tinted indoor lenses instead.
The court's ruling
The court separates two kinds of indoor shades. If bright light hurts because of migraines, eye surgery, or another medical condition, wearing sunglasses inside is not rude. It is self-care. Gottsman suggests a quick explanation to put others at ease, and the court considers that a courtesy, not a requirement.
Everyone else is guilty. Sunglasses at the dinner table, in a meeting, or in a friend's kitchen hide the one part of your face people use to read you. Team Shades is guilty of causing an indoor eclipse, and is sentenced to let the room see its eyes.
How to settle it at home
Ask before you judge. Someone wearing sunglasses inside may have a reason you cannot see, and a light-sensitive friend will appreciate a dimmer lamp more than a lecture.
If you are the one with sore eyes, one sentence ends the debate: bright light gives me migraines. If the glare is a daily problem, ask an eye doctor about tinted indoor lenses instead of living in dark glasses.
If you still disagree, take it to court. File both sides and let Judge Whiskerton rule on your version of the debate.
Questions people ask
- Is it ok to wear sunglasses indoors after cataract surgery?
- Yes. All About Vision says you typically do not need them indoors, but sunglasses can help if your eyes feel light-sensitive in a bright room during recovery. Follow your surgeon's advice.
- Is it rude to wear sunglasses at the dinner table?
- Without a medical reason, yes. A meal is a conversation, and etiquette advice says to take sunglasses off indoors so people can see your eyes.
- Why is it rude to wear sunglasses indoors?
- Because they hide your eyes. Eye contact is a big part of how people follow a conversation, so dark lenses can make you seem distant or hard to read.
- Is it ok to wear sunglasses indoors for migraines?
- It is not rude. But Migraine Canada warns that wearing sunglasses inside might make you more sensitive to light over time, so ask a doctor about indoor tints such as FL-41.