This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s fall editorial intern Alayna Thomas. Find her on Instagram at @ratatoolie. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
Whenever I go on social media, there’s always a new, trendy test to challenge relationships. One that has outlasted all the others and maintains popularity is the infamous green line test. Many believe that it is a basic or childish test, but this test actually has roots in the manosphere. The proliferation of this test shows how some parts of ‘alpha male’ culture can become normalized and go mainstream. So, let’s take a deep dive into the green line test: what it is, where it came from, and if it actually works.
What is the Green Line Test?
The green line test is a relationship test that involves analyzing pictures of a couple. You take a photo of a couple and draw a green line over each person. You then look at the lines: are they perpendicular to each other? Is one leaning in more? Repeat this process with a few photos.
The point is that the person who leans in the most is more into the other person and more involved with the relationship. People have taken to social media to post numerous pictures of themselves with their current or previous partners with green lines over them, asking viewers to examine the photos. They are trying to see if others can sense the problems in their relationship through the pictures.
People also do this with famous couples; posting photos with green lines to evaluate who likes who more. In fact, that’s where this test originates from.
The Origins
X user alpharivelino, or Rivelino, is who to thank for this test. In a thread from December 2023, he details his thought process for posting green line pictures.
As evidenced by his username, Rivelino is part of the manosphere and considers himself to be an alpha male. In order to be an alpha male, you must never show weakness or submit to a woman. Apparently, leaning into a woman while taking a picture with her is a sign of that… among other things.
Although his green line test is what took off, Rivelino also takes other things into account. A man pointing his pelvis towards his woman is known as ‘pussy pointing’ and is an indicator that you are being cockshamed. A woman should point her pelvis towards her boyfriend/husband, showing that she is ‘pussy tamed’ (I am struggling to write all of this with a straight face). There’s also ‘clawing’ which is when a woman has her hand on a man’s shoulder or is touching a man’s face. This all indicates an imbalance of femininity and masculinity, which can cause a couple to break up.
Rivelino started making these photos in 2020. But, it really kicked off in 2022 with an edited photo of Jada Pinkett-Smith and Will Smith, posted shortly after the slap that was heard around the world. The photo makes light of the slap, as well as Will and Jada’s well detailed relationship troubles.
The photo quickly took off because, well, look at it. At the time, no one had ever seen a photo analyzed like that before. It soon became an inside joke on Twitter, with ‘pussy facing the world’ becoming an often used quote.
Does the Green Line Test Work?
No, this is not a scientific method by any means. As you see from the previous section, this ‘test’ was made up by a random guy on the internet with problematic views on gender expression. This is not a test made by an expert in a field such as non verbal communication (yes, they exist). It’s not possible to determine the state of your relationship through drawing green lines on pictures. What if someone’s partner is notoriously stiff on camera?
This comes in a long line of people testing their partners on social media. For some reason, these tests are super popular. I see why; when you see images of happy couples on social media, you can feel the pressure to have yours mirror that.
Another factor is the ever present possibility of virality. I know that a lot of us don’t like to consider this, but many people invent and participate in these tests so they can get a crumb of internet clout. Although Rivelino seems to be genuine with his beliefs, he is aware of how he has shaped internet culture. What might’ve started out as ‘genuine’ concern for beta males may now be a little exaggerated. He knows that posting and talking about green line related topics will continue to drive traffic to his page, so of course he would say it works.
A Not-So Innocent Test
As you can see, the green line test is not just about seeing who is into who more. It is openly about performances of masculinity and femininity based on how two people are positioned next to each other. Notice how I said performance, because that’s truly what it is. There is no way that body positioning can show who is more feminine or masculine in a relationship.
People like Rivelino are the reason why others call out things such as toxic masculinity. Imagine being so insecure in your masculinity that you worry about looking like a ‘beta male’ next to your girlfriend while taking a picture! That just seems like an incredibly limiting way to live.
However, what makes me most nervous about the green line test is that it shows how easily manosphere culture can become mainstream. Many social media users don’t think that the test has truly questionable roots, and I find that interesting. However, there are many that do know the roots and may have had their ‘ironic’ liking of Rivelino’s images turn genuine.
All of this is to say, if you think your relationship may be in trouble, green lines are not the way to find out.
What do you think? Does the green line test work? Let us know in the comments below!
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