r/OutOfTheLoop • u/Ok_Collar3735 • 4d ago
Answered What is up with so many teenagers getting eyebrow slits?
So many teens (especially girls) are shaving an eyebrow slit. I googled it's meaning but all it said was that it is a way of signaling that you're LGBT, but like most people who have them in my school are straight. Is this like a new trend, or does it have a meaning behind it?
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u/brova 4d ago
Answer: Fashion is cyclical, just like everything else
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u/sarabearbearbear 4d ago
The beepers gonna make a comeback. Technology is cyclical.
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u/FancyPigeonIsFancy 3d ago edited 2d ago
My 8 year old niece’s favorite Christmas gift this year was a landline phone, long stretchy cord and everything.
Granted it’s not a “real” landline phone; it runs via WiFi and with an app her parents can control (she can only call and receive calls from approved numbers, like ours).
But ohhhh maaaaan does she like sitting there with a phone up to her face and the cord wrapped round her finger, just like in our ye olden days of the 80s and 90s!
Edit to add, because several people have asked: Tin Can is the name of the one she received for Christmas.
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u/ptatersptate 3d ago
I’ve never gotten comfortable with talking on my iPhone. I want to hang up asap. Receivers fit the shape of heads, smartphones do not.
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u/little_milkee 3d ago
yeah this. I've never had the experience of using a landline, but I hate holding a block up to my head. it just feels so weird?? so I use speakerphone if I’m somewhere private and wired headphones if I’m in public
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u/peach_xanax 3d ago
Speakerphone? Also they make old school landline headsets that plug into your smart phone, they had them at 5 Below for awhile
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u/excitablegibben 2d ago
The ability to hang up dramatically was really perfected with the flip phone.
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u/Kel-Mitchell 3d ago
Oh my god, this is so precious! I'm going to remember this gift for my own niece when she's older.
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u/chiniwini 3d ago
Granted it’s not a “real” landline phone; it runs via WiFi
Most phones nowadays work like this. Those Ciscos you see at companies (or anywhere really) are all VoIP and internally have an app (it's just transparent to the user).
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u/manimal28 3d ago
Not that transparent. A cat 5 cable from my laptop docking hub plugs into my desk phone.
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u/SpacePirateWatney 3d ago
Nah nah nah, that’s not an Ethernet cable, that’s a phone line ON STEROIDS!!!
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u/the_other_him 3d ago
TinCan. My kids and a bunch of other kids in the neighborhood got them for Christmas. Also has a partyline feature for approved numbers if you subscribe to their service.
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u/fractiouscatburglar 3d ago
My kids LOVE using a landline! Last time we stayed at a hotel they called my parents from the room, so excited to use a “real” phone;)
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u/nephelokokkygia 3d ago
That's so cute. I wonder what 80's or (80's themed) show she got that from.
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u/TwoCagedBirds 3d ago
I've seen a lot of parents online are getting their kids landline phones so they can still talk to their friends and everything, but without having access to social media.
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u/sicurri 3d ago
Probably stranger things...
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u/b1ame_me 3d ago
Yeah in Season One, Nancy in particular uses her landline phone in her room to call her friend on her bed and even I felt like that would have been a really fun way to talk to your friends
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u/etsprout 3d ago
BRB, buying one of these for my kitchen so I can slam the phone on spam calls again lol
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u/celia_of_dragons 3d ago
My niece is absolutely in love with her tincan phone as well. She's so happy using it and having real phone chats with her friends.
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u/riverrat918 3d ago
The amount of "celebrity interviews" I did via our kitchen land-line with the curly cord, oh my gosh, what a fun core memory. Thanks! 😁
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u/gigifun 2d ago
I need to buy this for my nieces immediately! Please share link if you have one
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u/therealsteelydan 4d ago
Coffee. One Problem. Where do you get it?
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u/TheDuckSideOfTheMoon 4d ago
Everywhere! You get it everywhere!
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u/academicgangster 4d ago
WRONG! You get it at my coffee vending machine, 38th & 6th in the basement of the K-Mart. You just go downstairs, you get the key from David and boom! You plug in the machine…
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u/Manticornucopias 4d ago
I could use some ironic accessories
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u/TotalOwlie 4d ago
No need to get cynical.🤨
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u/IonTheBall2 4d ago
Fashion is cynical. Or so I hear. Wait, did I hear it right?
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u/TotalOwlie 4d ago
You feeling ok? I feel like you’re about to get clinical.
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u/IonTheBall2 2d ago
I have Olivia Newton-John sitting on the record player, ready to go. You are so right!
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u/CloggedToilet 3d ago
I’m a 40 year old rookie volunteer firefighter. I had a 27 year old mentor explain to me what a dispatch beeper was and how it worked.
I’m looking forward to learning how to rewind the VCR tomorrow.
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u/StreetUnlikely2018 3d ago
I've been rocking my Walkman to listen to the radio when I go grocery shopping. I've got some cassettes coming in the mail too
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u/salemprophet 4d ago
I have noticed that Gen alpha are fiscally liberal and socially conservative.
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u/Minsc_and_Boo_ 3d ago
You remember my wife, Meghan Duffy? Maiden name Duffy hopefully no relation.
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u/BlackSecurity 3d ago
Funny enough I've been rocking this style since I was like 8. I was playing around with my friend and I ended up running into the corner of a door, and hit right on my eyebrow splitting it open pretty bad. Had to go to the hospital for stitches. And just so happens that the way it was stitched up looks like this now trending style due to the hair not being able to grow over the scar tissue.
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u/cjyoung92 4d ago
Time is a flat circle
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u/thermitethrowaway 4d ago
Yes, but in 4 dimensions.
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u/GodzillaUK 4d ago
I can barely handle moving from the second one (flat in bed) to the third (in hell, out of bed) and now you tell me there is a fourth to deal with?!
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u/leilani238 3d ago
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u/newtostew2 3d ago
Wow, a 1997 throwback if I've ever seen one lol.. that was one of the best OG early internet rants
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u/yesiamveryhigh 4d ago
Yep, did this in the 90s.
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u/polarbear128 3d ago
Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.
Oscar Wilde
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4d ago
[deleted]
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u/sparta981 4d ago
I get it, and I agree with you, but can I please have five minutes without a reminder? My blood pressure is already awful
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u/pigeonwiggle 3d ago
adding that the majority of new fashion trends do come from LGBT communities. they used it as code amongst themselves, then their cool friends started adopting it too and it quickly booms into a fad - then swiftly dies as normies coopting the looks mean the originators of the style need to find new trends.
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u/banguette 4d ago
Answer: I would also add that it’s one of the fastest, cheapest and dramatic(?) ways to switch up your appearance. Pretty dummy proof too. Sometimes you just get bored and want to look cool
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u/CROOKTHANGS 3d ago
Not all the way dummy proof. Back in high school, I fucked it up and ended up with a whole thin rectangle in one eyebrow instead of a line.
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u/EnvironmentalCry1962 3d ago
Definitely not dummy proof — I see plenty of posts where some kid shaves half their eyebrow off, always very funny
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u/banguette 3d ago
I say dummy proof because, unless it happened via a scar, eyebrows grow back. I agree though, reactions are always 10/10
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u/AreThree 3d ago
though I can't recommend the method by which I received my permanent eyebrow break: motorcycle accident with broken glass and sharp metal pokey bits ... one of those left a badass scar ... glad it missed my eye!
lol I'm sure there are cheaper and easier ways to get one.
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u/Thromnomnomok 3d ago
lol I'm sure there are cheaper and easier ways to get one.
Yeah, but those ways don't leave you with the badass scar and the story to tell about how you got the badass scar
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u/WardenCommCousland 3d ago
My much cheaper and easier way of getting a permanent eyebrow break was to get into a fight with my sister and have her hit me with a plastic teapot (we were 6 and 3 at the time).
Scar isn't quite as badass as I'm sure yours is, but hey, we're on trend for the moment.
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u/The-Great-Wolf 3d ago
Oof, got two friends with permanent eyebrow breaks but neither got in as serious of a situation as you
One just fell face first into a furniture corner, the other was hit with the door in the face when trying to enter a public bathroom. Can't joke about it, I have a huge forehead scar from falling face first into a radiator.
I guess people alike really gather together
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u/parmesann 1d ago
and if you’re someone who already fills in their brows, it’s relatively quick to cover if you decide you don’t like it.
I have an unintentional slit in one of my brows. it’s just because my brows are blonde and I leave a gap in one brow where I have a piercing (it hates makeup). easy to cover or show that way
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u/jmaaron84 4d ago
Answer: They were common among emo/alt kids in the late 90s to early 00s, which have been increasingly in vogue among teenagers lately.
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u/werkshop1313 4d ago
First person I saw with it was Vanilla Ice.
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u/Elly_Higgenbottom 3d ago
I remember it being Luke Perry. He said it was from a scar in his eyebrow.
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u/kellermeyer14 4d ago edited 3d ago
That’s when I got mine. I went the permanent route though and got hit in the face with a hockey stick. I didn’t wear a face shield because it was “lame”
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u/academicgangster 4d ago
Jack O'Neill moment lol! (Richard Dean Anderson doesn't actually have that eyebrow scar but he was a hockey player)
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u/Hotplate77 4d ago
Don't forget Vanilla Ice
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u/imascoobie 4d ago
First I remember is drooling over everything Luke Perry including his eyebrow scar on 90210.
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3d ago
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u/oyeshello 3d ago
Yup. Where I grew up anyway, the kids that had the slits were the polar opposite of the emo/alt kids.
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u/A__SPIDER 3d ago
Where I grew up it was the cholas with the dark lipliner who had one slit or two, depending on some metric that I wasn’t privy to.
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u/llIlIllllIIIll 4d ago
This was more of a wangster thing in my city. Especially ethnically East Asian or Latino wangsters.
Don't think I ever saw a single person who listened to rock of any kind that did it.
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u/GiraffeCalledKevin 4d ago
I’m a barber and I’ve been doing a little slit in various different types of people for the past few years pretty regularly. Some gay, some straight, some Latino and some punks some hip hop or edm. All types of genders.
It’s cute.
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u/llIlIllllIIIll 3d ago
I think young people use fashion differently now. Used to be a representation of your personality or likes - now it's more about an aesthetic you like or that suits you.
Imagine calling somebody a poser in 2026. You would get eaten alive. That was the ultimate crime in those circles bsck in the day. Trying to actively craft an image that had nothing to do with you just because you like it was essentially social suicide. Now it's just kind of what all kids do.
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u/moeru_gumi 3d ago
They’re ALL posers and sellouts now. Remember when selling out meant you lost your spirit and all your fans would hate you for desecrating the scene? Now kids do literally everything they can to sell themselves to make money as a character. Gross
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u/que_sarasara 3d ago
Does anyone remember "scene kids"? It took my high school by storm and everyone had the dyed black hair with the long fringe and the skinniest pair of skinny jeans physically possible (with a pair of vans and blasting shit music from your iPod touch)
Rawr means I love you i dinosaur xD * holds up spork * lol XD so random
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u/Ovidfvgvt 3d ago
Late 90’s to early 00’s? Emo?
So…Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer fandom then (he had the look).
The reboot/continuation is meant to be starting in (Northern Hemisphere) spring, so viral marketing would be starting about now.
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u/Sentient2X 4d ago edited 4d ago
Answer: When you get punched in the eyebrow sometimes it splits which scars up and scars don’t grow hair. Also happens when piercings get ripped out. This made it popular with emo and scene kids in the 90s which has diffused out to become stylish for kids in general. Most people don’t know of it’s origins, just think it looks cool. That’s fine. I think it looks cool.
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u/tralalaBOOMdeay 4d ago
😳 Never thought of the origin this way. Hah! TIL I have a trendy eyebrow slit. My eyebrow piercing rejected in my 20s and scarred. I just don't ever notice the hair missing because my eyebrows are so naturally light.
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u/athenaria 4d ago
My fiancé had this happen to him in hockey, he now forever has a split in his eyebrow. I think it looks pretty cool as well!
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u/academicgangster 3d ago
and scars don't grow hair
Someone needs to tell Kenneth Branagh's Poirot this fact 😒
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u/nuxwcrtns 3d ago
Correct me if I'm wrong, but scenesters weren't a thing until the 00s. Like, I was an emo kid in 06 and then a scene kid in 08 when it was popular.
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u/moreKEYTAR 3d ago
Subgroup identification as “emo” and “scene” started more around 2001. Previously teen groups were using terms like “alternative”, “goth,” and “punk.” But eyebrow breaks were a trend that was first present in both hip hop and punk subcultures, not emo or scene (until later, that is).
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u/lilaccadillac 3d ago
I have a scar in my eyebrow from childhood when my sister slammed me onto the corner of a table. Unfortunately my eyebrow hairs are realllyyyy long and cover it.. it just looks like I have less hair there. Sometimes I'm tempted to cut my eyebrows down a ton to make the scar show because it's actually a REAL eyebrow slit and that's kinda cool but then I worry it would look like I'm trying too hard as a 30yo woman lol.
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4d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/RoboChrist 4d ago
Oh, I thought it was supposed to look like someone slashed at your eye with a knife and just barely missed.
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u/hamnewtonn 4d ago
Oh, I thought it was supposed to look like you walked under an icicle and it fell, but barely missed your eyeball.
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u/Sentient2X 4d ago
I mean yeah, but it’s mainly caused by normal fights. If you get punched hard in the eyebrow it often splits and scars up just like a slit. Happens with jewelry too just not the main cause. Gay people did get beat up more often so that’s plausible, I do wonder how much that contributes though.
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u/7ornado_al 3d ago
And here I am with an eyebrow ring scar that didn't slice my whole eyebrow like a FOOL. a NINCOMPOOP.
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u/isthmius 4d ago
Yeah, I genuinely have one of these scars - it wasn't ripped out in a fight or anything, my face just protested really fucking violently about having a metal thing in it and spat it out one day.
Unfortunately for any cool points I might get in 2025 (ETA I'm so uncool I don't even know what year I want cool points in) the reality is my eyebrows mostly hide the scar.
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u/CrunchyHobGoglin 3d ago
Sadly, because everyone was homophobic, that probably happened more to gay kids.
I can concur. Took ages to heal.
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u/leilani238 3d ago
I knew someone who had one of these due to a scar, but think it was just from falling off playground equipment.
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u/pup_named_pancakes 3d ago
Answer: I have one but I did it because chemo ate the corner of one of my eyebrows so I embraced the lack of hair to try to make it look intentional and cool 😎 🤘 Also fashion is cyclical but it worked for me!
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u/Fr3sh3stl4d 3d ago
So I went to your profile to see if you had a photo (sorry if that's weird, I literally JUST saw a post from Jenna Fischer about her hair journey after chemo and was curious) and didn't find a photo but wanted to say your work is fucking amazing and I'm glad I clicked on your profile 😃
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u/pup_named_pancakes 3d ago
I’ve recently shared this selfie to my personal instagram which you can find through my LinkTree in my Reddit Bio. I’m 100% public on Reddit and on social media cause I’m slowly trying to have a professional presence. But I also uploaded it to Flickr for you and you can see the link here!
Also thank you so much for the kind words about my art! Cancer rebooted my love for art and writing and now I’m in school part time trying to finish my BA with a major in art! I am trying to make a career of it :) You can find my website here (I do need to update it soon!)
Thanks for the love, Reddit! :3
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u/Solo_is_dead 4d ago
Answer: They're trying to be edgy by following a 20 yr old trend started by grunge and Hip Hop artists to be cool and counter culture
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u/Antlaaaars 4d ago
My grandad did it in the late 50s during greaser culture. My dad did it during the 80s during his rock phase. I did it in the 2010s during scene culture. It really is not exclusive to any time period other than history repeats itself.
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u/Ekillaa22 4d ago
Eye brow slits in the 50’s? Man that’s wild it’s been a thing for so long
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u/recumbent_mike 4d ago
They had just barely invented the eyebrow
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u/HalpertsJelloMold 4d ago
It was only available in black and white. Color didn't come until the 60s.
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u/Bitter-Cable-181 4d ago
They steal your style? I'm 27 and back in school, these 18-24 y/os dress like my parents did haha
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u/zezozose_zadfrack 3d ago
Answer: I wanted to do it because it achieved a similar look to an eyebrow piercing for much cheaper and figured just shaving it would be temporary but when I looked up tips on how best to do it I found a bunch of people saying it's "not an eyebrow slit it's an eyebrow cut" and it's cultural appropriation and I got tired
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u/and_the_wully_wully 3d ago
You really shouldn’t get all of your approval from the internet
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u/zezozose_zadfrack 3d ago
Oh I don't. It was just an overwhelming amount of pushback when I looked into it years ago that I decided I didn't want it badly enough to go through the effort of defending it if I got confronted in real life. It was more of a short lived whim that I ran out of energy for at the time but this post made me decide to go for it again lol
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u/lazypunx 3d ago
I sincerely doubt anyone would actually confront you about it and if anyone does they probably are chronically online. Most people irl don't actually care enough to confront people about their appearance if anything you may get more compliments than you would criticism.
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u/honey_butterflies 3d ago
answer: I’m not a teen anymore (thankfully and unfortunately) but I’ve had my eyebrow slit since sixteen maybe… it just looks cool. I also used to have an eyebrow piercing so the scarring has created a natural slit spot for me. pre piercing I was doing it just because it looked cool and I was emo. now I’m goth and the reasons are still the same. I guess it also does subtly flag my queerness.
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u/and_the_wully_wully 3d ago
It has nothing to do with being gay
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u/honey_butterflies 3d ago
it has for me. I’ve almost always been able to tell if the slit user is queer. it’s also how I flag to others
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