Their lips are pursed. Their eyes gaze into the middle distance. Is this a real thing?
Picture a face that is blank-eyed and puffy-lipped, like a koi fish on Ativan.
That, according to a cluster of recent articles and social media posts, is a textbook "Gen Z pout." It is an expression being attributed to young celebrities like Lily-Rose Depp, Rachel Sennott and Ariana Greenblatt, who appear to purse their lips with forensic precision when posing for pictures.
Some argue that the look is meant to cultivate an air of chic detachment. Others are not quite convinced. "The 'gen z pout' is genuinely making yall look like homer simpson," Fatima Shaikh, 19, wrote in a TikTok video.
The pout has become a subject of bottomless analysis online, where the slightest of movements by a young person risks being declared a generational microtrend. (The designations are not always precise: Ms. Sennott, born in 1995, is a young millennial.)
Just last year, commentators identified a "Gen Z stare," a blank look supposedly displayed by teens and 20-somethings when they are asked a question. There have also been skirmishes over side parts, skinny jeans and crew socks.
These labels may be catnip for influencers and media outlets, but how much do they actually register with those they theoretically describe?
"Sometimes I think it's a little cringe: 'Gen Z this,' 'Gen Z that,'" said Ms. Shaikh, a college freshman in Seattle. She thinks it is fun to weigh in occasionally, but cannot see herself pursing her lips in imitation of a celebrity.
