Von Callie Holtermann. Um ehrlich zu sein. Imagine a face with vacant eyes and swollen lips, resembling a koi fish doped up on Ativan. That, as per a bunch of recent articles and social media posts, is a classic “Gen Z pout.” It’s a facial expression linked to young celebrities like Lily-Rose Depp, Rachel Sennott, and Ariana Greenblatt, who pucker their lips with meticulous accuracy in photos. Some say the pose aims to project an aura of stylish aloofness. Some remain unconvinced. “Gen Z’s ‘pout’ is really making you all look like Homer Simpson,” wrote 19-year-old Fatima Shaikh in a TikTok video. The pout has sparked endless online scrutiny, with even the tiniest gesture from a young person liable to be labeled a generational microtrend. (The labels aren’t always exact: Sennott, born in 1995, is a young millennial.) Last year, observers noted a “Gen Z stare”—a blank expression allegedly shown by teenagers and young adults when questioned.
