# Most girls in HotOrNot. com make duckface in their pics. Do they think it's actually attractive? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 26, 2014, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-girls-in-hotornot-com-make-duckface-in-their-pics-do-they-think-its-actually-attractive/702580 "2014-10-26T16:17:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-girls-in-hotornot-com-make-duckface-in-their-pics-do-they-think-its-actually-attractive/702580/41 "2014-10-27T00:24:42Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I thought it was the opposite. It’s something women do to deliberately make themselves less attractive. Yeah. Well, maybe not strictly less attractive, more that the look is tongue-in-cheek. I’ll concede that maybe they underestimate how unattractive it is, but I think the majority of them aren’t doing it to look more attractive. It’s either, as **Montro** says, strictly ironic or at least they know that that no one is taking it as a serious attempt to look prettier. And I’m also on board with “hotornot is till a thing???” Is ratemypoo still alive? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-girls-in-hotornot-com-make-duckface-in-their-pics-do-they-think-its-actually-attractive/702580/42 "2014-10-27T01:00:31Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > It’s obvious that the look communicates that the duckfaced person possess a certain sense of humor. If you don’t share that sense of humor, then you probably aren’t going to find that person attractive. But making that face would be a great way to signal to other duckfaces they’ve found a match. I don’t think sense of humor has anything to do with it. > [@Eonwe](#): > > If girls who sport “duckface” are getting “play,” it’s _not_ because men out there are smart enough to see past it to the beauty beneath, or because the girls believe it’s a non-factor so why not, it’s because _the guys for whom those women are making the face find it attractive._ > > FWIW, my hypothesis on the origins of duckface is that it makes a young woman look less like a girl. Smiles can give off a youthful happiness, and duckface masks that; no vulnerability, and ready for bad-ass “adult” things like sex and partying. I completely agree with this. ---
**Author:** ![nani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58956e/32.png) [@nani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nani)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-girls-in-hotornot-com-make-duckface-in-their-pics-do-they-think-its-actually-attractive/702580/43 "2014-10-27T01:04:18Z")
I don’t get what you guys mean by duckface. The pictures in this thread are all of very different, well-known looks that enterprising fashionistas put a lot of time into choosing. For example, in **GrumpyBunny** ’s pic, the girl on the left is doing _Ferrari_, while the girl on the right is going for the softer _La Tigre_. ---
**Author:** ![emcee2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emcee2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emcee2k)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-girls-in-hotornot-com-make-duckface-in-their-pics-do-they-think-its-actually-attractive/702580/44 "2014-10-27T01:12:43Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’ll admit I’ve never been to Hot or Not. Is it designed so that people can only post pictures of themselves? Or do people post pictures of other people? It’s intended for posting pictures of yourself. I’ve never been there myself, but it was a big deal in the news for a while in the early 2000s. It was intended as a way to find out if you’re physically attractive to other people. Now it appears to be another Tinder clone. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-girls-in-hotornot-com-make-duckface-in-their-pics-do-they-think-its-actually-attractive/702580/45 "2014-10-27T01:21:57Z")
I always thought girls who did this were [Marylin Monroe](http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/ba/b0/58/bab058b0a81d78815d5faf49fa54e5d6.jpg) wannabes. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-girls-in-hotornot-com-make-duckface-in-their-pics-do-they-think-its-actually-attractive/702580/46 "2014-10-27T01:27:07Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > I always thought girls who did this were [Marylin Monroe](http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/ba/b0/58/bab058b0a81d78815d5faf49fa54e5d6.jpg) wannabes. Monroe may have done it on occasion, but Angelina Jolie _lives_ there. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-girls-in-hotornot-com-make-duckface-in-their-pics-do-they-think-its-actually-attractive/702580/47 "2014-10-27T01:41:02Z")
> [@emcee2k](#): > > The site is called Hot or Not. The entire point of posting you’re picture is to be judged on your looks. If they didn’t want to be judged on their looks they wouldn’t post their picture. I wouldn’t be surprised if duckfacers actually got rated higher than non duckfacers. Not just on that site, but any site that caters to attention-seekers and people looking for hook-ups. You don’t have to believe me, but common sense supports what I’m saying. If the duckface didn’t help a certain demographic succeed on the internet, it is unlikely it would be so pervasive. Here’s my theory for why the duckface is so prevalent on Hot or Not: Women who pose like this give off a more “Whoohoo! Look at me and my cute self having fun!” vibe that appeals to men in the mood for mindless internet flirting. A woman who submits a pic of herself with a normal smile risks looking like she takes herself too seriously; she doesn’t look as “fun”, carefree, and game for flirting. Because a duckfacer hides her desire for validation behind a pretense of silliness, she is more approachable to men, especially the type that 1) are into browsing hookup sites and 2) easily intimidated by non-silly women (you know, the type who expect men to have something going for themselves before sleeping with them). There is probably a lot of overlap between these two groups. I also think the duckface has become such a habit that people don’t even know they are doing it. My niece visited me a couple weeks ago, and took a selfie. The girl succumbed to the duckface unconsciously. It may be that people under a certain age see and do it so often they don’t even see it anymore. So the unattractiveness of it eludes them. ---
**Author:** ![emcee2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emcee2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emcee2k)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-girls-in-hotornot-com-make-duckface-in-their-pics-do-they-think-its-actually-attractive/702580/48 "2014-10-27T01:55:55Z")
You’re all way over thinking this. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-girls-in-hotornot-com-make-duckface-in-their-pics-do-they-think-its-actually-attractive/702580/49 "2014-10-27T02:29:21Z")
> [@emcee2k](#): > > You’re all way over thinking this. You must be new. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-girls-in-hotornot-com-make-duckface-in-their-pics-do-they-think-its-actually-attractive/702580/50 "2014-10-27T02:35:08Z")
Good god, people, it’s just a silly face people make at the camera just like sticking out your tongue. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-girls-in-hotornot-com-make-duckface-in-their-pics-do-they-think-its-actually-attractive/702580/51 "2014-10-27T03:01:40Z")
> [@emcee2k](#): > > You’re all way over thinking this. Memes are complicated. They are part of the modern, more complicated popular culture. They have phases, or reactions and counter reactions. Your explanation is clearly too simple, as it’s falling short of explaining the phenomenon. You’re stuck not only on the initial meaning of duckface, but also the initial meaning of [HotOrNot.com](http://HotOrNot.com). Yes, at one point, duckface was done just to be more attractive. It was just a pouty look being overdone to the point of ridiculousness. But we’re well past that stage. Yes, it was commonly made fun of, but we’re past that stage, too. It was done in a mocking, ironic way, as a sort of parody of attractiveness or as a parody of gangsta culture. We’re past that, too. We’re in the post-ironic phase, which is rather complicated to explain. This somewhat takes it back to its origins, but not quite, because the past usage still informs how it is interpreted. It’s being used intentionally to imply what is in the other phases. Yes, it involves projecting an attitude of being fun and playful. Yes, it involves projecting that you don’t care what other people think. But it also involves acknowledging that you do care, and are insecure about how you would look if you weren’t doing it. Listen to the woman here who says she still does it, and you can hear all those things in her explanation. And, of course, it is in a way being done to be attractive. But not in the “judge my picture” way. That’s not what HotOrNot is about anymore. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-girls-in-hotornot-com-make-duckface-in-their-pics-do-they-think-its-actually-attractive/702580/52 "2014-10-27T03:07:17Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Good god, people, it’s just a silly face people make at the camera just like sticking out your tongue. I am always fascinated by this reaction. It’s as if pop culture has become too complicated to be understood, so you retreat back to the simplicity of the way things used to be. Sorry, you’re wrong. If it were just a silly face, it would carry no meaning and would be no more popular than any other silly face. And it wouldn’t have become a meme. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-girls-in-hotornot-com-make-duckface-in-their-pics-do-they-think-its-actually-attractive/702580/53 "2014-10-27T05:42:54Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Memes are complicated. They are part of the modern, more complicated popular culture. They have phases, or reactions and counter reactions. Every single thing you describe here is exactly the same as in-jokes, trends, counter-trends etc that I went through as a kid, teen and twenty-something amongst my friends, schoolmates, and college gang, all before the internet existed. The _only_ difference is that things are now played out on a larger scale. You youngsters aren’t even close to being as unique as you think you are. ---
**Author:** ![jimbuff314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c57346/32.png) [@jimbuff314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbuff314)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-girls-in-hotornot-com-make-duckface-in-their-pics-do-they-think-its-actually-attractive/702580/54 "2014-10-27T06:09:16Z")
I agree with what you say, **Princhester**. Here’s the thing, though. Each generation, age cohort, call it whatever you want, has a desire to regard themselves as special. In order to do this, those things which went before them must be cast off, belittled, ignored. Only by doing this can they create something which is uniquely theirs. It was laughable back in the day to read stories about kids communicating through text-talk almost as though it was some sort of secret code their parents couldn’t decipher. This is just an example of coming up with something “new” to be able to call it their own. You see the same thing reflected in the music that is popular, styles of clothing that are worn, hair length, etc, etc. Each new generation does this, each new generation _must_ do this to establish itself, to differentiate itself. Hipness, coolness, with-it-ness. Identity. See? Even the adjectives I use to describe it date me. It will never end. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-girls-in-hotornot-com-make-duckface-in-their-pics-do-they-think-its-actually-attractive/702580/55 "2014-10-27T06:39:55Z")
Actually I’m probably overstating the case in saying the _only_ difference is scale. Another difference is that memes now have a greater degree of historical permanence: most of our antics were more transient since they were verbal and also photography wasn’t as ubiquitous. I don’t mean that the trends and jokes moved quicker, I just mean that there is simply no record anywhere of what we were saying since none of it was written down or saved on some server somewhere. Another difference is third party observability: us middle aged folks can observe (even if not convincingly participate in) a substantial amount of young person chatter just by reading stuff online. I realise that there is a lot going on between younger people that is less observable, using person-to-person platforms. However, when I was a kid, essentially all the trends and chatter was done away from prying adult eyes and ears, although I have no doubt that my parents, teachers etc knew far more about what we were up to than we realised. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-girls-in-hotornot-com-make-duckface-in-their-pics-do-they-think-its-actually-attractive/702580/56 "2014-10-27T14:03:25Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Every single thing you describe here is exactly the same as in-jokes, trends, counter-trends etc that I went through as a kid, teen and twenty-something amongst my friends, schoolmates, and college gang, all before the internet existed. The _only_ difference is that things are now played out on a larger scale. You youngsters aren’t even close to being as unique as you think you are. Totally and completely nailed it. The only thing different is the technology. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-girls-in-hotornot-com-make-duckface-in-their-pics-do-they-think-its-actually-attractive/702580/57 "2014-10-27T16:33:09Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Good god, people, it’s just a silly face people make at the camera just like sticking out your tongue. Sticking out ones tongue is fun and cute. Making duckfaces is stupid and retarded. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-girls-in-hotornot-com-make-duckface-in-their-pics-do-they-think-its-actually-attractive/702580/58 "2014-10-27T16:49:41Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Women must get tired of society ignoring whether they’re talented or professional or intelligent or competent and just jumping to the issue of whether they look good. Time takes care of that problem. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-girls-in-hotornot-com-make-duckface-in-their-pics-do-they-think-its-actually-attractive/702580/59 "2014-10-27T17:09:35Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Sticking out ones tongue is fun and cute. Making duckfaces is stupid and retarded. Both are fun and cute as well as stupid and retarded depending on context. When film cameras and developing got cheap enough that wasting some snap shots on a silly picture or two wasn’t too much of a waste of money, the old codgers of the time probably hated it. Now that everyone pretty much has a camera in their pocket at all times and photography is pretty much free once you have a smartphone anyway, the codgers hate the latest silly thing. Today’s kids will hate the next thing just as much in thirty years. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-girls-in-hotornot-com-make-duckface-in-their-pics-do-they-think-its-actually-attractive/702580/60 "2014-10-27T17:14:17Z")
If she ducks, she fucks, amirite? UP TOP! C’mon bros, don’t leave me hangin’. Really? Nobody? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-girls-in-hotornot-com-make-duckface-in-their-pics-do-they-think-its-actually-attractive/702580.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-girls-in-hotornot-com-make-duckface-in-their-pics-do-they-think-its-actually-attractive/702580.md?page=4)