A simple trend which claims that drawing a line across your partners body will show who wields the power in a relationship is going viral on TikTok.
Called the ‘Green Line Test’, people from around the world have been sharing hundreds of thousands of videos about it on the platform, racking up 11.2 billion views this week.
The test was originally created by Twitter user Rivelino in May 2020, who claimed the way a person posed with their partner in photographs indicated who held ‘the power’ in the relationship, and their ‘lean’ could be highlighted with green lines.
He said if a man line was ‘leaning’ in towards the woman, it showed the woman was the one who was in control of the relationship – while if she was leaning towards the man, he wore the pants.
And after user @JackMacBarstool applied the test to a photograph of Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson, his video quickly went viral.
The clip, which now has 729,000 views and over 8232 comments, prompted many to share the results of their own ‘Green Line test’ online.
A simple trend which claims that drawing a line across your partners body will show who wields the power in a relationship is going viral on TikTok
Social media users from across the world are claiming the Green Line love test, which sees them drawing vertical bands down the centre of their body and their partner’s body, indicates who is ‘leaning’ and therefore who is ‘in power’ (left, one woman in the US claimed she was in control; right, a couple in the US claiming they are both equal)
Another woman in the UK shared a selection of snaps alongside her boyfriend, claiming she was ‘in control’ because her partner was always the person ‘leaning in’
Sharing his original thoughts on the theory back in 2020, Rivelino commented: ‘The feminine wants to lean into the masculine.
‘She wants to enter his world, feel his strength, feel his protection and submit to his guidance.
‘Sexual polarity is the foundation for sexual attraction. Sexual polarity is the foundation for love.’
He continued: ‘WHY CAN’T A MAN LEAN IN? When a man leans into his girl, he reveals that he feels needy & lower value.
American TikTok user Trinity was skeptical of the theory after sharing several photographs in which she and her boyfriend leaned into one another
British TikTok user Ellie Weaver (left) posted a selection of snaps with her boyfriend revealing how she leaned into him in photographs, while @IahDiaz claimed she was unsure who was in control after sharing snaps alongside her partner (right)
‘He reveals that he has a weak mindset, and that he feels dependent on her. This is exactly what turns her off.
‘She is looking for strength and confidence in a man, not weakness.’
He wrote: ‘Body language is energy revealed.
‘Leaning in shows neediness, leaning away shows disdain.’
Meanwhile he said that if a woman’s head was ’tilting away’ it was ‘a clear sign of disappointment and disillusion in her relationship with him.’
The Twitter user went on to explain that if a person had ‘masculine energy’ they would have ‘masculine posture’, adding: ‘You are a man, you stand up straight, you live in your world.
‘She is part of your world, if she is lucky enough to be chosen by you. You do not live in her world.’
‘If you believe you are the center of your own world, why would you lean into anyone?
‘If you think leaning in has anything to do with height, status, power or fame, you’re missing the point.
‘You create your own reality.’
But despite being invented by the Twitter user several years ago, TikTok users have been going wild over the test in recent weeks.
The test gained popularity on the app after @JackMacBarstool went viral when drawing green lines over the top of a photograph of Pete Davidson with Kim Kardashian.
Twitter user @AlphaRivelino is believed to have originated the test on Twitter in May 2020 and said leaning in is ‘about power’
He explained: ‘It essentially shows who is pulling who in a relationship, like who wears the pants?
‘The body language test is also a relationship test because it shows whose axis is straight and whose is being pulled in.’
He said: ‘The green list doesn’t care who you are or how much you bench.’
The trend involves drawing green lines down the centre of you and your partner in photographs to indicate who is ‘leaning’ more towards the other.
The partner with the vertical line, apparently, is dominant in the relationship, as they’ve stayed still while their other half has moved towards them.
The test garnered popularity on the app after @JackMacBarstool went viral when drawing green lines over the top of a photograph of Pete Davidson with Kim Kardashian
TikTok user Claudia Shao questioned whether the test worked after sharing several snaps alongside her partner with both leaning in to one another (left, her partner leaning in, and right, she leaned in)
After the clip went viral, many have taken to the app to share their results, claiming the test does reflect the dynamic of their relationship.
Posting a background noise which stated, ‘I’m sorry, not everybody fits in the bad b**** genre. It’s a genre,’ many female users used their videos to claim they were more in control of their relationship than their partners.
Meanwhile Brenda Tlachivalencia, from Chicago, claimed the test showed she and her partner had ‘small leans’ but were ‘essentially equals’.
Despite some enthusiasm from users on the app, others said they were skeptical of whether the test really revealed anything about their relationship.
TikTok users from across the world have since applied the green line test to their own relationship, with some claiming it showed mixed results (left) while others said it was reflective of their relationship (right)
Meanwhile Brenda Tlachivalencia, from Chicago, claimed the test showed she and her partner had ‘small leans’ but were ‘essentially equals’
Posting a video in which she spoke over the top of several images of herself with her boyfriend, TikTok user @TrinityBaileee explained: ‘As we can see in this one picture, I’m clearly the one leaning in. But does this have anything to do with the green line test?
‘Here’s another picture where he’s leaning over than me – but he’s clearly a lot taller than me.’
She went on to share photographs where she and her partner were stood ‘parallell’, finishing the video by saying: ‘I don’t get it! Tell me, isn’t it just like…there are pictures at different angles always?’
Other users expressed confusion as they shared a multitude of photographs showing themselves with their partners in a variety of different poses.
Do YOU dare take the Green Line love test? As new trick reveals who really wields the power in a relationship, SARAH RAINEY analyses celebrity couples to find out who wears the trousers
Do you wear the trousers in your relationship or do you tend to let your partner lead the way? If you’re unsure there’s now a very simple way to find out.
Called the ‘Green Line Test’, it has been doing the rounds online. TikTok has hundreds of thousands of videos about it, racking up 11.2 billion views this week.
So does it really stand up to scrutiny? Yes, says body language expert Mike Carter: ‘We tend to lean physically towards things that we want, like and feel strongly about.’
So, should we all be leaning towards our partners? Rachel New, a relationship coach, says leaning indicates a person is willing to ‘accept influence’, which means they take on board their other half’s suggestions and are open to changing their mind without becoming defensive.
The Green Line Test, to find out who is the dominant partner in the relationship, has racked up 11.2 billion views this week on TikTok alone. Sarah Rainey demonstrates how the test works with celebrity couples including Victoria and David Beckham, (pictured) Harry and Meghan, and Boris and Carrie
‘Men tend to be less good at this, so if the man is leaning in it is a very good sign that he feels secure and confident in himself,’ she adds. ‘Ideally both partners would lean in, but the man leaning in is a close second for a healthy relationship.’
We picked out celebrity couples – looking at dozens of photos of each to find their typical posing style – and put them to the Green Line test…
HARRY AND MEGHAN
Dominant: Meghan
In their official engagement portraits, wedding photographs, and during last year’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey; each time Harry is leaning in to an unbending Meghan
Having moved across the Atlantic to raise his family, it comes as no surprise that it is Harry, 37, who leans towards Meghan, 40, in the majority of photographs. In their official engagement portraits, wedding photographs, and during last year’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey; each time Harry is leaning in to an unbending Meghan.
‘He’s moving in towards her, and the hand position is revealing, too. Her hand is on top of his, and her shoulder is in front of his body, both of which suggest control,’ says Mike.
BEYONCE AND JAY-Z
Dominant: Jay-Z
Power couple Beyoncé, 40, and Jay-Z, 52, have been together for over 20 years and it seems their relationship — which survived a year-long breakup and three children — is on a pretty even footing.
Beyoncé may be more of a household name; she’s sold 118million records and is worth £397million. However, photographs tell a different story. Beyoncé — who once said of her beau: I love him so much we almost feel like one’ — is the one with the diagonal line, leaning towards Jay-Z.
‘She is leaning in and he is holding her, with his arm on top of her to reinforce the balance of power,’ says Mike.
BEN AFFLECK AND JENNIFER LOPEZ
Dominant: Neither
Ben, 49 and J-Lo, 52 have two diagonal lines in their recent pictures, with both leaning lovingly towards one another
Actor Ben, 49, and singer J-Lo, 52, have had a rocky relationship, to say the least. The pair were engaged from 2002 to 2004, avoided each other for 17 years – and then rekindled their friendship before getting back together last June.
Perhaps because of their history, or the fact that they’re still in the honeymoon period, there are not one but two diagonal lines in their recent pictures, with both leaning lovingly towards one another.
‘This is an affectionate photograph,’ says Mike. ‘Their bodies are reasonably straight but the angle of the head is important. A straight head is confrontational, but putting your head on an angle is more sympathetic and appeasing.’
WILL SMITH AND JADA PINKETT-SMITH
Dominant: Jada
Body language expert Mike Carter says that the complexity of Will and Jada’s relationship is reflected in their photographs. He says that although he is leaning into her, Will’s arm around Jada also suggests that his is protecting her
His Oscars outburst might give a clue to the dynamic in this relationship, and pictures display a clear pattern of Will leaning in.
Will, 53, and Jada, 50, have a notoriously complicated relationship: there were rumours of an ‘open marriage’ in 2013, they quietly separated in 2016 and by 2018 were back together with Will calling Jada his ‘life partner’.
This complexity is reflected in their photographs, Mike says.
‘While he’s leaning towards her, the angle of his head is quite straight and almost pointing away from her — this suggests he may be being controlled by her. ‘But he also has his arm around her, and this shows he’s protecting her, too. So although he’s leaning in, he is “steering” her from behind. A complex relationship.’
DAVID AND VICTORIA BECKHAM
Dominant: Victoria
David dutifully leans in towards his wife, Victoria is pictured leaning away. Mike says that she is pushing herself up against him in a pose that says ‘I’m a sexy woman and this is my man’
Possibly the best-known celebrity couple in the world, David, 46, and Victoria, 48, have been photographed together tens of thousands of times during their nearly-23-year marriage. Almost every single picture of the pair — who have a joint net worth of £355million — clearly reveals the balance of power, following the Green Line theory. While David dutifully leans in towards his wife, Victoria is pictured leaning away.
‘She’s almost moving backwards,’ says Mike. ‘She is pushing herself up against him in a pose that clearly says: “I’m a sexy woman and this is my man.”’
David, meanwhile, has a hand behind his back; body language that bolsters Victoria’s dominance.
KATE AND WILLIAM
Dominant: Neither
Will and Kate’s lines are very straight, illustrating an equal, shared dynamic. Here, on their 2016 tour to India and Bhutan, both William, 39, and Kate, 40, are straight-backed with only their heads nodding in towards one another
Poised and picture-perfect, the Cambridges’ photographs are very staged, whether official press shots or more intimate family snaps taken by Kate.
The lines are very straight, illustrating an equal, shared dynamic. Here, on their 2016 tour to India and Bhutan, both William, 39, and Kate, 40, are straight-backed with only their heads nodding in towards one another.
‘He always has his head on one side; this is non-confrontational body language,’ says Mike. ‘And they both have their hands on view, a classic sign of credibility.
ELTON JOHN AND DAVID FURNISH
Dominant: Elton
Mike says that although David is grasping Elton’s Oscar here, for best song in 2019’s Rocketman, Elton has handed it over to him – allowing David to hold it
Singer Elton John, 75, who’s sold 300million records over six decades, may dwarf his filmmaker husband David Furnish, 59, in career terms, but pictures suggest things aren’t quite as clear-cut when it comes to their marriage.
Pictured with his Oscar for best song from the 2019 film Rocketman, Elton is sitting straightbacked while David leans in towards him.
However, adds Mike, ‘David is grasping the Oscar even though he didn’t win it. Elton has handed it over, letting David hold it and then putting his hand around David’s. It shows he may be slightly dominant, but it’s also hugely affectionate.’
GEORGE AND AMAL CLOONEY
Dominant: George
Mike says that Amal is moving towards her husband George, which is a sign that she wants to be protected, but she’s also cuddling up to him, so it’s not simply about dominance
The notoriously private couple, who married in 2014 and have fiveyear-old twins let very little slip about their relationship — and aren’t often pictured in public.
However, in a rare, recent interview, human rights lawyer Amal, 44, described Hollywood star George, 60, as her ‘great love’.
‘She’s definitely moving towards him,’ says Mike. ‘She is wanting to be protected. But she’s also cuddling up to him — it’s not simply about dominance.
‘In fact, the arrangement of the interlocking hands is interesting. Her hand is slightly on top of his, so she’s saying it’s not always him who’s in charge.’
BORIS AND CARRIE JOHNSON
Dominant: Neither
Mike says that there is a symmetry to the way Carrie and Boris are walking in this photograph. He says that they are in sync with one another
Carrie Johnson, 34, might have a reputation for keeping the PM on his toes, but photographs suggest their relationship dynamic is on a much more even keel.
While Boris, 57, who has had two previous marriages and fathered seven children, may come across as bumbling and inept, pictures suggest he is more than capable of keeping up with his younger wife. ‘There’s a real symmetry to the way they’re walking in this photograph,’ says Mike. ‘They’re in sync with one another, which suggests there’s synchronicity in their relationship.
‘Boris always hides his hands; here, one is behind his back, and that’s not a good sign as it suggests untrustworthiness.’
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