The cult of the dissociative pout

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 Ring-light selfies have been replaced by blurry photos which are nonetheless casually-yet-meticulously photo-dumped in artful configuration; winged eyeliner and blowout curls have been dropped in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

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

“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.”

“dissociation is always better than desperation.”