Sure, beauty is subjective, but society has drilled the so-called “perfect” features into our brains. We know exactly how we rate, which traits to highlight, and which to… tolerate. It’s exhausting. Beauty is wildly unique, but that doesn’t stop us from running the same internal checklist every time we glance in a mirror or scroll through a dating app.
And here’s the kicker: every swipe, every crowded bar flirt, every attempt to “find your equal or maybe just slightly above” — comes with the risk of heartbreak. The kind that leaves you curled up in bed for days, texting tragic essays worthy of Charlotte Brontë, or filming sobbing TikToks destined for a glow-up reel that will never happen.
Enter Gen Z’s latest solution to love’s misery: “shrekking.” Lime-green, low-key savage, and somehow genius, it’s the trend everyone is talking about. Let’s unpack it.
What is ‘shrekking’?
The term comes from people joking that they’re “dating their Shrek.” Yes, that big green guy with the accent. Basically, it means deprioritizing looks, settling a little, or even intentionally going for someone you aren’t conventionally attracted to.
