The Differences Between Traditional African American "Eye Roll"/"Side Eye" & Traditional Caribbean "Cut Eye" And TikTok's Versions Of These Gestures

 

NENE LEAKES, Oct. 13, 2017
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This very brief video clip is an example of what I refer to as the "traditional" eye roll gesture (compared to the 2000s TikTok eye roll and the TikTok side eye gestures.)

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part II of a three part pancocojams series about the "eye roll" gesture.

This post showcases a brief video clip of NeNe Leakes formerly from the reality television series The Real Housewives Of Atlanta doing an eye roll. That post contrasts that eyeroll gesture with a 2020 TikTok compilation of people doing "eye rolls" gestures and a Feb. 2023 TikTok clip of a man doing a "side eye" gesture. 

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/03/a-2017-article-excerpt-that-provides.html for Part I of this pancocojams series. That post presents definitions of "eye roll" and an excerpt of an article written by an African American professor that interprets "eye rolling" particularly as it is done by African American females.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/03/examples-of-african-american-girls.html for Part III of this pancocojams series. That post also presents some examples of the African American girls saying "You can roll your eyes and stomp your feet"...

The content of this post is presented for socio-cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publishers of these TikTok clips on YouTube.
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Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/03/puttin-on-black-side-eye-videos.html for the closely related 2012 pancocojams post entitled "Putting On The Black-Giving A Side Eye".

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE ABOUT (TRADITIONAL) AFRICAN AMERICAN "EYE ROLL" AND CARIBBEAN "SIDE EYE" AND CUT EYE"
In the United States, the traditional* "rolling your eyes" gesture is very similar to the Caribbean gesture "cut eye". In the United States "side eye" is another term for "cut eye".

Here's an  excerpt from a 1974 study of the Caribbean gesture "cut eye"

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED119515.pdf AUTHOR Rickford, John R.; Rickford, Angela E.
TITLE "Cut-Eye" and "Suck-Teeth": African Words and Gestures in New World Guise.
PUB DATE [19]74
NOTE 37p.; To appear in Journal of American Folklore,
Jul-Sep 1976

[page] 5
"The basic cut-eye gesture is initiated by directing a hostile look or glare in the other person's direction. This may be delivered with the person directly facing you, or slightly to one side. In the latter position, the person is seen out of the corners of the eyes, and some people deliberately turn their bodies sideways to achieve this effect. Liter the initial glare, the eyeballs are moved in a highly coordinated and controlled movement down or diagonally across the line of the person's body. This "cut" with the eyes is the heart of the gesture, and may involve the single downward movement described above, or several sharp up-and-down movements. Both are generally completed by a final glare, and then the entire head may be turned away contemptyously from the person, to the accompaniment of a loud suck-teeth."

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[page] 8

The gesture of cut eye is performed most frequently (and most skilfully!) by women.

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[page] 9

[...]

As we ourselves discovered since beginning this study, it is certainly known and used in other

parts of the Caribbean. The term is listed in the Dictionary of Jamaican English for what is clearly the same gesture with the same meanings

"Cut-Eye: to catch (someone or something) with the eyes, then quickly close them and turn or toss the eyes aside. The purpose of the action may be to avoid temptation...

but it is usually directed against another person...

and is usually insulting."

The editors also add that the action may combine insult and temptation into provocation, and cite the following definition from Miss Joyce Nation:

[page] 10


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[page] 13

Some of the Black informants mentioned that "rolling the eyes" is sometimes used instead of "cutting the eyes" in Black American communities to refer to the very same gesture. This is
confirmed in Keith Johnson's description of "rolling the eyes" among American Blacks, which accords with our own description of cut eye in Guyana on several points. Unless it omits certain details, however, the following description from another researcher would suggest that the physical movements involved in "rolling the oyes" might be slightly different:

"...if a girl in a lounge does not want to be bothered when a cat comes up to rap, she might lift up one shoulder slightly, rolling her eyes upward in her head as though saying, 'what a drag!"

Whether or not this is the case, note that the meaning and usage of the gesture still register dislike, disapproval, or hostility."...

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #2 - TikTok "MM YEAH" Eyeroll Compilation - TikTok Viral Eyeroll Challenge Compilation 2020

Tik Tokin', March 28, 2020

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #3 - SIDE EYE 😒 #KaramoShow #Shorts

Karamo Show, Feb. 23, 2023
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The TikTok compilations of side eye (such as https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mabq0tko3xw&t=56s) include many examples that I don't consider to be the traditional form of "side eye".

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WHAT DO THE TIKTOK "EYE ROLL" AND TIK TOK "SIDE EYE" MEANS AND HOW DO YOU DO THESE GESTURES?
Compare the descriptions of the "eye roll" and "side eye" that were previously quoted in this pancocojams post with the following information This information about the TikTok eye roll and the TikTok"side eye":
From https://dddtik.com/blog/what-does-the-tiktok-eye-roll-mean/ what does the tiktok eye roll mean  By dddtik  February 12, 2022

..."Who started the eye roll on TikTok?

"The eye roll created by  Khal  | Popular songs on TikTok.

What does an eye roll indicate?

Definition of eye-rolling : the action or gesture of turning the eyes upward as an expression of annoyance, exasperation, disbelief, etc. : the rolling of the eyes Other news anchors read the news.

What is the TikTok eye challenge?

Now, people are finding out their “side eye colour” thanks to a new trend that’s doing the rounds on the app called the “Side Eye Challenge”. Set to the song, ‘After Dark’ by Mr Kitty, users film their eyes up close and then look away on the beat of the song to see if their eyes are a different colour.

What does the EBOY eye roll mean?

In some of their most popular videos on TikTok, e-boys show off their good looks, highlight their bone structure and other features many of their peers would find attractive. They smirk, roll their eyes and touch their faces in ways that are extremely suggestive.

How do you do the eye roll thing?

To roll your eyes, look up as high as you can without moving your head, then swing your gaze in an upwards arc from one side of your eyes to the other. To exaggerate the eye roll, combine it with a head shake, a sigh, or both

How do you do the Tiktok eye?

To execute the psychology love eye trick, simply look at your crush’s left eye, then down to their chin/lips, then to their right eye. This should all happen in a matter of seconds—you don’t want to get caught staring at their chin for too long, they’ll think they have food or something stuck there.

What does  mean from a girl?

Face with rolling eyes is an emoji used to express disbelief, annoyance, impatience, boredom, and disdain. It can also be used to indicate sarcasm or irony.

Can eye-rolling be flirting?

An eye roll is one of the most common forms of non-verbal communication. Someone says something sarcastic or does something annoying, and you just can’t help yourself – you have to roll your eyes. … That’s because until just 50 or 60 years ago, eye-rolling was more commonly used as a form of flirting!

Is rolling eyes disrespectful?

Gentle Reader: Rolling the eyes as a prelude to fainting is not considered rude, however much it may inconvenience those fainted upon. … For any other reason, even showing exasperation at other people’s poor manners, it is."...

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INFORMATION ABOUT "EYE ROLL" EMOJI AND "SIDE EYE" EMOJI

I. EYE ROLL EMOJI

From https://emojiguide.com/smileys-emotion/face-with-rolling-eyes/
"Face With Rolling Eyes 🙄

Someone crack a lame joke, or did something so stupid you don’t want to waste a single word reacting to it? Share the Face With Rolling Eyes emoji – once you do that, you won’t have to say anything else! The eye rolls will do all the talking. 

What does 🙄 emoji mean? Like an in person eye roll, the eye roll emoji is generally used to express moderate disgust, disapproval, frustration, or boredom. If it could talk, it would probably say, “Ugh,” or “Yeah, whatever,” or a combination of the two. 

Often called the Eye Roll emoji or Rolling Eyes emoji because of the eyes rolling upwards, this emoji wears an expression you’ll be able to tell a mile away. You’ve probably had eyes rolled at you once or twice in your life, too. You should remember though, which gender is doing the eye rolling. What does a 🙄 mean from a guy? It just means he is being playful. While the 🙄 meaning from a girl is more negative. When she does it, you bet she is hella annoyed!

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How To Use Face With Rolling Eyes Emoji On Different Platforms 

The Face With Rolling Eyes emoji is most likely one of the oldest emojis you can use on devices these days, which makes it easily recognizable. Many people may already be familiar with the face with rolling eyes symbol, but if you want to know how to type this emoji on different devices, then you’ve come to the right place. 

This emoji is one of the OGs, hands down. The Face With Rolling Eyes was introduced to the public in 2015 as part of a highly anticipated batch of new emoji released by the Unicode Consortium. Because it was designed so early, naturally, it debuted on Android and iOS emoji keyboards ahead of most of the other emojis. 

Unsurprisingly, that’s where you’ll still be able to find them! Today, the majority of Android devices have pre-installed emojis, and the Face With Rolling Eyes emoji is part of that batch. To get to it on Android, you need to first press the smiley icon on the Android’s emoji keyboard. When you’re done, swipe left or right to look for the emoji you want, and just tap on it to add it to a conversation.".... 

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II. SIDE EYE EMOJI (ALSO CALLED "UNAMUSED FACE"
https://emojipedia.org/unamused-face/

😒 Unamused Face

Emoji Meaning

A yellow face with slightly raised eyebrows, a frown, and eyes looking to the side. May convey a variety of negative emotions, including irritation, displeasure, grumpiness, and skepticism, as if giving the side-eye.

Not to be confused with 😏 Smirking Face, which features similar eyes but a wry smile.

Unamused Face was approved as part of Unicode 6.0 in 2010 and added to Emoji 1.0 in 2015."...
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This concludes Part II of this three part pancocojams series.

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