According to the all-knowing Wikipedia, “duck face” is “a trend of photographic pose, which is well known on profile pictures in social networks. Lips are pressed together as in a pout and often with simultaneously sucked cheeks.”
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Much has been written about women who make duck face, as they tend to be the more serial offenders. Less has been said about men. But plenty of guys do it. It’s totally weird, not particularly attractive, and, frankly, needs to be addressed.
“The phenomenon of ‘duck face’ can be boiled down to one simple thing, insecurity,” Jake Myers, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist based in Los Angeles, tells Queerty. “Almost all gay men grow up with some level of feeling less than, not acceptable, or different. Because of this, we often have a base line of insecurity that we must overcome.”
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Myers continues, “Pursing out your lips is another way of screaming not only ‘notice me!’, but ‘notice how sexy I am!’ The problem with this is that it’s superficial validation. You can’t really feel better about yourself because someone else notices you and thinks you’re sexy. Happiness and self acceptance must come from within.”
Scroll down for examples of otherwise good-looking men distorting their faces in strange and unattractive ways. And, please, remember these faces the next time you pose for a selfie…
kzen64
How about we also talk about that other trend, sticking your tongue out in photo’s…
Told my fiance that the pose wasn’t very attractive. His response, it’s my body I’ll do what I want… oh kay… still doesn’t make you look attractive.
joeyty
The mouth wide open for no reason is another one some gay men are always doing.
osman
@joeyty: Well if a Dude opened his mouth at me I would just put somthing in it 🙂
IDoNotHaveToAgreeWithYou
As annoying as duck face is, you don’t get to run a million stories on Bruce Jenner and complain about anything anyone else does.
SnakeyJ
@kzen64: Congratulations on your imminent divorce.
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
Okay this is “problematic” for a number of reasons not least the fact that it is fem-shaming as well as imposing your hegemonic heteronormative masculinist supremacist beauty standards on the community. Shame on you Queerty!
kzen64
@SnakeyJ: oh, so you aren’t open and honest with your partners… good luck with making that work.
Matt Achine
Those of us with full lips don’t need to enact this desperate pose. 🙂
jheryn
@PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID: What? I guess you really can read anything you want whether it is there or not. I see none of that there.
Duck face, which should be renamed Dumb Face, looks stupid on anyone. I don’t care if they are fem, butch, gay, lesbian, straight or anything else. It looks stupid. That isn’t fem shaming, it just is what it is.
SnakeyJ
@kzen64: It’s not about being truthful, it’s how your comment was written. His reaction to your statement was to immediately shut you down, and then you had a snarky reply to that. To me it demonstrates a lack of respect on both parties. I’m honest with my partner and we disagree, we fight, but there has to be respect for the other person’s views.
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
@jheryn:
By aggressively invalidating my opinion you are breaching the rules of this SAFE SPACE. Consider this your final warning!
kzen64
@SnakeyJ: well, my response to him was unsaid.
jheryn
@PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID: OMG!!! Not my FINAL warning. Commence shaking in my boots and cowering in fear. 😉
misterhollywood
I’ve never understood the duck face. Maybe it is a way of hiding wrinkles? Now there is an idea!
joeyty
@osman: Hmm. That’s one way to stop it. Or…maybe not…
joeyty
@PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID: lol (wink)
Chris
I just realized that I can’t unsee those pix.
Evji108
All those guys doing duckface look as idiotic as the women who do it, probably worse. The women who do it look like sleazy hoes and the men who do it look just silly. It’s not a flattering look on women and even more ridiculous on men. Like fashion victims, they’re trying way to hard to be cool & sexy and end up just embarrassing themselves.
judysdad
The Duck Face and the wide open mouth with tongue sticking out: Two poses owned by a segment of gay males and almost all adolescent females.
Evji108
@PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID: WTF? safe for whom, are you made of glass? You poor fragile angel. I think we can take care of ourselves here.
Dave Downunder
Why do so many gay men imitate trends started by teenage girls? So off putting.
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
@Evji108: You should’ve preceded any talk of “glass” particularly in THAT context with a TRIGGER WARNING for any cutters out there you insensitive asshole!
martinbakman
Kissy, kissy girlz!! 😉
Black Pegasus
This article should be forwarded to all gay millennials and those who suffer from Peter Pan syndrome.
notevenwrong
Why did we need a new word for “pouting”?
joeyty
@PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID: Isn’t it an intense commentary on society with how far we can go with satire these days with so many people thinking we’re dead serious ?
1898
The only thing worse than the duckface is the man bun. Ugh. Enough already.
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
@joeyty: lol Word!
Marky
What’s funny is they aren’t even joking when they do it. They’re emulating high fashion models who are told to purse their lips for photographs. It’s like the body language version of Uma Thurman’s fake accent.
The people that are bringing the duck-face aren’t exactly the sharpest tools in the f***in’ box, you know what I mean? This is like the tickling. Stupid people enjoy it.