I don’t have anything against Taylor Momsen. I even wrote a post defending her once! I just think she’s perfected the art of the teenage girl scowl, and there’s something kind of great and hilarious about it. Observe:
The reason I get such a kick out of Momsen’s patented “What the fuck ever” glare is because the majority of the pictures taken of me when I was Momsen’s age feature the exact same expression, and I suspect the same goes for many of you, as well. It’s a weird time when your hormones and emotions and general angst turn everyday events into seriously dramatic ones (this is not the case for all teenagers, mind you—some people never go through such a phase, I suppose), but for some of us, the scowl is often accompanied by an inner monologue that sounds a bit like this: “This family barbecue is so stupid. Like I care? Whatever. I guess I’ll have a Coke and a hamburger, because that’s so American and corporate and dumb. Is there any ketchup? I can’t sell out without ketchup.”
“I’ll start smiling when the world stops sucking, thanks.”
“I can’t believe I came to this shitty party. I hate this town. I have to get the hell out of here.”
“Ice breaker games? You have got to be fucking kidding me. I’m here to learn physics, not what Alvin’s middle name is.”
“Mom, I will die of embarrassment and come back to haunt you forever if you have those waiters sing to me. I’m serious.”
“I don’t know if I’m bored, or just slowly losing consciousness due to the overwhelming stench of your Axe body spray.”
“I knew I should have skipped this assembly. Now I have to sit here and listen to some bullshit by some bullshitters bullshitting. What a bunch of bullshit.”
Sure, some of Momsen’s scowls might just be edgy posturing, but I think most of us have had those “I don’t fucking care/get out of my face” moments caught on film at one point or another, and though she’s probably better known for her scowls, she has her silly moments as well, which sort of encompasses the emotional highs and lows of that age: for every moment of angst, there’s another moment where you stumble across something that makes you truly happy as you continue to figure out who you are and who you want to be. And every so often, your teenage scowl returns, because sometimes, the world is just asking for a big dose of whatever.
[All Images Via Getty.]
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