The cult of the dissociative pout

“dissociation is always better than desperation.”

As the “casual instagram” trend shows, honest performativity in any form has been discarded in favour of a heavily-constructed facade of authenticity. Ring-light selfies have been replaced by blurry photos which are nonetheless casually-yet-meticulously photo-dumped in artful configuration; winged eyeliner and blowout curls have been dropped in fav... See more

As constructed as they are, our posting habits often inadvertently reveal something intimate about our fears, needs, and desires, so it only makes sense that our fatigue would present itself there, too – and when the duckfacing of the optimistic 2010s proved too tiresome, perhaps it was inevitable that our lips would land in a pout.

“I suggest that the death drive has something to do with it,” the piece reads. “Our aesthetic and behavior are certainly shaped by a sense of doom. There’s a nihilism to the way people dress and party; our heels get higher the closer we inch to death. It’s why people are smoking again, so says the New York Times.”

Unlike duckface, its IG-ready goals are filtered through the lens of detachment and irony. This contrast mirrors the culture at large: in the viral article ‘The Smartest Women I Know Are All Dissociating’, writer Emmeline Clein argues that the predominant feminist ethic has shifted from honest, near-painful earnestness to one of detachment, meta-ir... See more