What Is The Green Line Theory And Why Is It So Popular?

The Green Line Theory states that when you take a couple's photo and draw individual green lines across their body, starting from the neck and extending up to their pelvic area, you can get a fair idea of who holds power in the relationship.

Initially, a Twitter user uploaded a collection of celebrity couple photos with green lines drawn across them in an effort to understand who is and who isn't the dominant partner. The test soon caught on among the masses and became a TikTok trend.

The social media platform was then filled with videos of people conducting the test on celebrity couples, on people they know, and sometimes on themselves while they posed with their better halves.

While some dismissed the trend on grounds of absurdity and nuisance, others thought that it was insightful and appropriate. But no matter the cause behind it, people at large did find the trend fun and widely participated in it.

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What is the green line theory?

The green line theory indicates the power dynamics within a romantic relationship (Image via Getty)

According to the green line theory, if you take a picture of a couple standing side by side, based on who is leaning toward whom, you can figure out who the dominant partner is in the relationship.

For this, you need to draw two individual vertical green lines across both partners' bodies. Based on the inclination of the line, you will be able to figure out who makes the rules in the relationship.

The line does not necessarily have to be a green one, but since the trend first originated with this color, it has continued to be so across all platforms.

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How does the Green Line Theory work?

Based on who is leaning towards whom, the green line test can be used to identify the "alpha" in the relationship (Image via Bored Panda)

So after you run a green line through both partners' bodies in a couple's photo, you have to take note of the inclination of their bodies toward one another.

If one partner is leaning more towards the other while the latter stands straight or is leaning towards the former but at a less inclined angle, it means that this individual has less power in the relationship. Similarly, the one who stands straight or leans at a less inclined angle is the dominant one in the relationship.

If both partners are standing straight, it means that they share equal power in their relationship.

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Does the Green Line Theory make sense?

The green line test was slammed for being misogynistic (Image via Dazed)

For most who engaged in the trend, the Green Line Theory was a fun way to feel included amongst a wave of others who also participated in it.

Others thought that the theory was indeed profound and served as a true demarcator of power within a relationship, something that was worthy of being studied.

The rest thought that the trend was extremely flawed, as experiments such as this can never dictate the nature of someone's relationship. Some also accused the trend of being misogynistic in nature, as initially it started as a trend to establish the amount of control a man has in a relationship.

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No matter how short-lived the trend was, people widely participated in the Green Line Theory trend. The rule of the trend is applied even now to dissect the relationships of celebrity couples, which highlights the impact it had on the masses.