A new relationship test is going viral on TikTok, as users lean on the Green Line Test to examine their romantic connections.
The viral test first started its rise online between April and May of 2022, according to Dexerto, gradually collecting interest in its unique approach to scrutinizing a relationship. Reportedly stemming from Twitter account @alpharivelino, the test supposedly illustrates who “wears the pants” in a relationship, and can predict whether a pairing is doomed to fail.
TikTok’s Green Line Test
A helpful breakdown from TikTok user @jackmacbarstool, or Jack Mac, helps to clear up the details of the Green Line Test for the uninitiated. A common user of TikTok’s new favorite relationship test, Mac outlines how the test works using several examples.
The Green Line Test examines relationships by focusing on visual cues — namely, each half of the couple’s body language when they are together. Using photos of couples like Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson or Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Mac explains how their posture indicates their role in the relationship. According to his breakdown, when one half of the pair leans into the other — creating a diagonal line with their bodies — this is an indication that they are the less dominant half of the couple. He draws a straight green line through each half of the duo to illustrate his point.
How the Green Line Test works for couples
In Kardashian and Davidson’s case, it appears that Davidson is the more submissive of the two. With Markle and Harry, the Duke of Sussex can clearly be seen leaning into his wife more often than not. This isn’t the case with actor Jason Statham and his model wife Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, however. Images of the couple show both standing starkly upright, supposedly an indication of a strong relationship.
Mac’s explainer video earned him nearly 9 million views and more than 900,000 likes, prompting the creator to examine the test further. Across his uploads, he investigates a number of couples, from Will and Jada Pinkett Smith (and August Alsina) to Tom Holland and Zendaya.
The way Mac presents it, a couple that stands completely upright — without either half leaning even slightly into one another — is set to last. It’s not a death sentence if one half of the pair leans in, however, so long as it’s not the man. A man leaning in is a sure sign of relationship woes, according to his breakdown, but a woman doing the same is, at least sometimes, acceptable.
Ignoring the inherent sexism of this takeaway and leaning on a likely unfounded hope that Mac is joking — he works for Barstool Sports, so probably not — the Green Line Test is pretty entertaining, at least. And its popularity on TikTok is undeniable, if the “green line” hashtag is any indication. The hashtag has 74.1 million views in total, and its page is home to dozens and dozens of videos, but not all of them see users trying out the test for themselves. A number appear instead to be discussing busses and trains, rather than famous couples. On the hashtag page, many of the top videos come from Mac himself, who’s found real popularity in leaning into this test for the 86,600 people who follow his page.
The obvious problem with the Green Line Test
While several users are finding pleasure in testing their own relationships or those of celebrity couples with a pair of green lines, the majority of videos utilizing the hashtag come from Mac himself. This is likely rooted in the clearly sexist leanings of the trend, which seems to turn most people — even Mac’s own viewers — off.
Comments on Mac’s Green Line Test TikToks are largely negative, with numerous commenters poking fun at Mac’s “massive reach.”
Users are also teasing Mac for his “fragile ego,” pointing out that height and angle often dictate how much people do, or don’t, lean in. They also noted the stark inconsistency of his lines, which are typically drawn in specific ways that help to illustrate his point.
Quite a few people are also convinced that Mac is creating satire out of the entire trend, but he’s not outing himself if so. We can only hope that it’s a joke test overall, but it’s the internet, so we may never know for sure.