@deathtostock
Instagram · Split screen
@deathtostock I went to the intersection of numbness and rage and everybody knew you there…… Femininity and emotional expression are being reframed. While some public figures embrace numbness as resistance to expectations, we wonder if rage is the natural next step. @whatzaraloves explored this emotional pipeline and its influence over our definitions of beauty and femininity💄 Tag yourself are you numbness or rage?
Performance
Video #32038 · Split screen
[01]
The creator presents a video essay analyzing the rise of 'numbness' and deadpan personalities as a cultural trend among online 'it-girls.' She theorizes this is a form of resistance to patriarchal expectations for women to be polite and smiley, then argues that this trend is evolving into overt feminine rage. To support her thesis, she provides examples of public figures like Charli XCX, Chappell Roan, and Sofia Isella, before promoting a creative project by Death to Stock that explores the intersection of beauty and rage.
[02]
[03]
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[05]
What stops the scroll in the first 3 seconds
Title hook · 55%
Numb is in according to your internet it-girls.
Verbal hook · 30%
Numb is in according to your internet it girls.
Visual hook · 15%
The video opens with a split-screen layout featuring a stylized, slightly distorted mirror selfie of a woman in lingerie, creating immediate visual intrigue. The narrator is visible in a smaller frame in the corner, establishing the commentary format from the first second.
[07]
The promise the opener makes, and how the video pays it back
Hook
A bold, declarative statement identifying a current, niche cultural trend to establish immediate relevance.
Payoff
Summarizes the argument by contrasting the initial trend with its evolved form, then directly ties the entire analysis to a product or project, and ends with an open-ended question to the audience to drive engagement.
[08]
The structural pattern this video runs on
Framework
The Cultural Thesis Escalator
To take a surface-level cultural trend, analyze its deeper meaning, and then pivot to a more powerful, evolved version of that trend, culminating in a call to action.
The Surface Analysis
Defines the trend with specific, recognizable examples and signifiers, grounding the abstract concept in concrete reality for the viewer.
The Sociological Reframe
Proposes a deeper, often counter-intuitive, sociological or psychological cause for the trend, framing it as a reaction to a larger societal pressure.
The Consequence Pivot
Poses a rhetorical question about the limitations or natural conclusion of the initial trend, creating a turning point in the narrative that signals a shift in the argument.
The Evolved Thesis
Introduces a new, related, but more potent concept as the next logical step or evolution of the initial trend.
The Thesis Proof
Validates the 'evolved thesis' by showcasing multiple contemporary examples that embody this new concept, providing evidence for the argument.
I went to the intersection of numbness and rage and everybody knew you there…… Femininity and emotional expression are being reframed. While some public figures embrace numbness as resistance to expectations, we wonder if rage is the natural next step. @whatzaraloves explored this emotional pipeline and its influence over our definitions of beauty and femininity💄 Tag yourself are you numbness or rage?
title · beginning
Numb is in according to your internet it-girls.
informational · beginning
It's beta blockers and deadpan personalities.
informational · beginning
The deadpan personality could be an escape from patriarchal expectations
informational · middle
that tell women to be these polite, smiley, nurturing beings,
informational · middle
a very controlled, stoic performance of femininity rising online
informational · middle
I think if we view numbness as resistance
informational · middle
to this sweet, polite feminine ideal, then so is rage.
informational · end
If numbness is a way to disengage from patriarchal expectations, then rage and anger is a way to break free.
branding · end
Death to Stock explored the intersection of beauty and rage
branding · end
in their recent project MAKESHIFT
call-to-action · end
what's been bringing you rage recently.
branding · end
(DTS)
Numb is in according to your internet it girls. It's beta blockers and deadpan personalities tier this appears to run deeper than just media training and internet personas. You need to smile more. And I was like why? I don't smile. The deadpan personality could be an escape from patriarchal expectations that tell women to be these polite, smiley, nurturing beings, especially in the media industry. With that, we're seeing a very controlled stoic performance of femininity rising online and in the media industry. I think of our first trend of 2026, which was it only has to make sense to me, which speaks to this type of voluntary disengagement. But when things stop making sense, what comes next? I think if we view numbness as resistance to this sweet, polite, feminine ideal, then so is rank, and that equally can be a form of resistance and change. I think of things like Chapel Rhone shouting at the paparazzi at the VMAs and how that created a positive shift. And then look at artists like Sofia Assel channeling foun rank anger into her songs. She's taken rage inspired by the works of Fiona Apple and Sylvia Plath and channeled it into songs about female liberation. If numbness is a way to disengage from patriarchal expectations, then rage and anger is a way to break free. And if ever a time to enact that rage it is now, Best to stock explored the intersection of beauty and rage and their recent project makeshift. You can find it on the death to stock platform, and please tell us in the comments what's been bringing you rage recently.