lobotomy-chic
In a year that has seen the rise of blurry photos and 0.5 selfies, there has also been a new pose taking over Instagram in 2022. Featuring a blank stare and lifeless rolled eyes: meet the lobotomy-chic aesthetic.
For over a decade, Instagram users posed with the signature “duck face” expression favored by the picture-perfect Kardashians, sucking in their cheeks and pursing their lips to create a playful pout.
However, according to a piece published by Rayne Fisher-Quann in i-D, the duck face pose has been dethroned in 2022.
In the last year, social media has instead been dominated by models adopting a lobotomy chic aesthetic, also known as the “dissociative pout.”
The dissociative pout has become the go-to-pose on Instagram and sees subjects “favoring pouty, puffed-out lips stretched into a disaffected frown” with “wide eyes… either captured mid-roll or aimed at the camera in a plaintive, lobotomy-chic stare.”
Fisher-Quann says the goal of the dissociative pout is “the performance of detachment” and to look as uninterested, apathetic, and numb as possible.
The lobotomy chic aesthetic has been popularized by celebrities like Billie Eilish, Amelia Gray HamlinBella Hadid, TikTok star Addison Rae, and Euphoria actress Chloe Cherry whose photos have made her the poster-girl of the trend.
All of these Generation Z icons have posted casual selfies which show them posing with relaxed pouty lips, glazed-over eyes, and assuming the blankest expression they can muster to create a lobotomy girl appearance.
It is not just a specific pose that is important to the trend, a distinct style of photography plays a major role in this aesthetic too.
According to Dazed, photographer Stolenbesos has particularly defined the lobotomy chic aesthetic.
Stolenbesos’ work features deadpan models shot with cool-toned flash photography and framed in a pastel-and-black color palette.
Her subjects often pose in obscure settings with random objects to increase the sense of dissociation.Sometimes Stolenbesos’ models, whose faces are washed out by the flash, look like they are not even aware that the photograph is being taken at all.
It is no secret that Generation Z is fascinated by the Y2K era, as witnessed by TikTok’s revival of the point-and-shoot digital cameras of the early 2000s. And the lobotomy chic trend is certainly heavily influenced by early 2000s grunge aesthetics.
However, the recent popularity of the lobotomy chic aesthetic can be primarily linked to the many trends that have seen Generation Z rejecting the highly-edited, flawless visuals that they grew up seeing from their millennial counterparts.
Generation Z’s dissociative pout could not be further from its precursor, the duck face.
While the duck face required influencers to tense and exaggerate certain facial muscles, the dissociative pout requires little effort.
While the duck face pose screamed look-at-me, the lobotomy chic aesthetic focuses on apathy and “not caring” as a means of being powerful and attractive.
The dissociative pout trend is part of Generation Z’s shift away from taking picture-perfect photos in favor of a more “casual Instagram” aesthetic.
Younger people are drawn towards taking more seemingly authentic, imperfect, and candid photos on Instagram — but that does not make these images any less curated than their millennial predecessors.
“As the ‘casual Instagram’ trend shows, honest performativity in any form has been discarded in favor of a heavily-constructed facade of authenticity,” Fisher-Quann writes in i-D.
“Ring-light selfies have been replaced by blurry photos which are nonetheless casually-yet-meticulously photo-dumped in artful configuration,” he continues.
“Effort is out, baby — now, everyone is trying very hard to seem like they’re not trying hard at all.”
The dissociative pout can also be seen as part of a wider trend of women taking ownership of their image. Rather than simply being sexualized for the camera, the lobotomy chic aesthetic makes its subjects appear as undefinable and vague as possible.
Dazed writes that for lobotomy chic’s foremost photographer Stolenbesos, “the popularity of her style signifies a shift in how girls are allowed to exist within the photography world. Instead of being bland and sexy, female models can be autonomous, portraying themselves as they wish to be seen.”
“I actually hate the idea that lobotomy-chic is nihilistic,” Stolenbesos tells Dazed. “Because I think my work is optimistic and hopeful!”
在模糊照片和 0.5 张自拍照兴起的一年里，2022 年也有一种新的姿势接管了 Instagram。茫然的凝视和毫无生气的翻白眼：满足脑叶切除术别致的美学。
十多年来，Instagram用户摆出完美的卡戴珊夫妇喜欢的标志性“鸭脸”表情，吮吸他们的脸颊，噘起嘴唇，创造一个俏皮的嘴唇。
然而，根据雷恩·费舍尔-全恩在 i-D 上发表的一篇文章，鸭脸姿势已在 2022 年被废黜。
去年，社交媒体被采用脑叶切除术别致美学的模特所主导，也被称为“分离性嘴唇”。
分离的嘴唇已成为Instagram上的首选姿势，并看到受试者“喜欢噘嘴，鼓起的嘴唇伸展成不满的皱眉”，“睁大眼睛......要么在中卷中拍摄，要么以平淡的、脑叶切除术般别致的凝视瞄准相机。
Fisher-Quann说，分离性噘嘴的目标是“超脱的表现”，并尽可能看起来不感兴趣，冷漠和麻木。
脑叶切除术别致的美学已被比莉·艾利什、阿米莉亚·格雷·哈姆林贝拉·哈迪德、TikTok 明星艾迪生·雷和欣快女演员克洛伊·樱桃等名人推广，他们的照片使她成为潮流的海报女孩。
所有这些 Z 世代偶像都发布了休闲自拍照，显示他们摆出放松的嘴唇、琉璃般的眼睛，并摆出最空白的表情，以创造一个脑叶切除术女孩的外观。
对趋势很重要的不仅仅是一个特定的姿势，独特的摄影风格在这种美学中也起着重要作用。
根据Dazed的说法，摄影师Stolenbesos特别定义了脑叶切除术的别致美学。
Stolenbesos的作品以冷色调闪光灯摄影拍摄的死板模型为特色，并以柔和和的黑色调色板装裱。
她的拍摄对象经常在晦涩的环境中与随机物体摆姿势，以增加分离感。有时，Stolenbesos的模特们的脸被闪光灯洗掉了，看起来他们甚至根本没有意识到照片正在拍摄。
众所周知，Z世代对Y2K时代着迷，TikTok在2000年代初复兴傻瓜数码相机就是证明。脑叶切除术的时尚趋势肯定受到 2000 年代早期垃圾美学的严重影响。
然而，最近脑叶切除术别致美学的流行主要与许多趋势有关，这些趋势已经看到Z世代拒绝了他们从千禧一代看到的高度编辑，完美无瑕的视觉效果。
Z世代的分离性噘嘴离它的前身鸭脸再远不过了。
虽然鸭脸需要有影响力的人紧张和夸大某些面部肌肉，但分离的嘴唇几乎不需要努力。
当鸭脸姿势尖叫着看着我时，脑叶切除术别致的美学侧重于冷漠和“不在乎”作为强大和有吸引力的手段。
分离的噘嘴趋势是Z世代从拍摄完美照片转向更“休闲的Instagram”美学的一部分。
年轻人被吸引到Instagram上拍摄更多看似真实，不完美和坦率的照片 - 但这并没有使这些图像比他们的千禧一代前辈更不精心策划。
“正如'休闲Instagram'趋势所表明的那样，任何形式的诚实表演都被抛弃了，取而代之的是大量构建的真实性外表，”Fisher-Quann在i-D中写道。
“环光自拍照已被模糊的照片所取代，这些照片仍然是随意而细致的照片，以巧妙的配置倾倒，”他继续说道。
“努力已经出来了，宝贝——现在，每个人都在努力，看起来他们根本没有努力。
分离的噘嘴也可以被视为女性拥有自己形象的更广泛趋势的一部分。脑叶切除术别致的美学不是简单地为相机性化，而是使其主题看起来尽可能无法定义和模糊。
Dazed写道，对于脑叶切除术时尚最重要的摄影师Stolenbesos来说，“她风格的流行意味着女孩在摄影世界中被允许存在的方式发生了转变。与其平淡无奇，女模特可以自主，按照自己希望被看到的样子描绘自己。
“我实际上讨厌脑叶切除术是虚无主义的想法，”Stolenbesos告诉Dazed。“因为我觉得我的工作是乐观和充满希望的！”
