{{Short description| Facial expression showing disrespect or contempt}} [[File:Emojione BW 1F644.svg|thumb|Emoji illustrating eye-rolling]] '''Eye-rolling''' is a gesture in which a person briefly turns their eyes upward, often in an arcing motion from one side to the other. In the Anglosphere, it has been identified as a passive-aggressive response to an undesirable situation or person. The gesture is used to disagree or dismiss or express contempt for the targeted person without physical contact.<ref name="Independent3">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/why-do-people-roll-their-eyes-psychologist-suggests-theories-for-passive-aggressive-sign-in-teenage-a6881371.html|title=Why do people roll their eyes? Psychologist suggests theories for passive-aggressive sign in teenage girls|last1=O'Connor|first1=Roisin|date=18 February 2016|work=The Independent|access-date=26 October 2017}}</ref>
== History == Eye-rolling has been present in literature since at least the reign of Augustus, appearing in book 12, line 939 of Vergil's ''Aeneid'', "... volvens oculos...".<ref>{{Cite web |title=P. Vergilius Maro, Aeneid, Book 12, line 919 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0052:book=12:card=919 |access-date=2026-01-27 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref> William Shakespeare periodically would use the gesture in his works to portray lust or passion for another character, as used in his poem ''The Rape of Lucrece''.<ref name="Independent3"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://shakespeare.mit.edu/Poetry/RapeOfLucrece.html|title=THE RAPE OF LUCRECE|website=shakespeare.mit.edu|access-date=2017-11-28}}</ref> In his time, eye-rolling was used commonly as an expression of desire or flirtation, and it continued to be used in his way in literature for centuries. Up until about the 1950s this same meaning was used in music and films, but began translating to the meaning known today.{{cn|date=January 2026}}
== In society == thumb|Someone rolling their eyes Eye-rolling is one of the most common forms of non-verbal communication among humans.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=LaFrance|first=Adrienne|date=May 11, 2016|title=Why 13-Year-Old Girls Are the Queens of Eye-Rolling|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/05/puhlease/482154/|access-date=October 26, 2017|journal=The Atlantic}}</ref><ref name="Oh Please">{{cite journal|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/life/explainer/2013/01/eye_rolling_why_do_people_roll_their_eyes_when_they_re_annoyed.html|journal=Slate|title=Oh, Please: When did we start rolling our eyes to express contempt?|date=16 January 2013 |access-date=31 January 2013|archive-date=1 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201044855/http://www.slate.com/articles/life/explainer/2013/01/eye_rolling_why_do_people_roll_their_eyes_when_they_re_annoyed.html|url-status=bot: unknown |last1=Wickman |first1=Forrest }}</ref> A study of teenage girls in the eastern US found the eye-roll gesture to be their most common expression of displeasure. Thirteen-year-old girls use eye-rolling as the main sign of aggression towards their peers in social situations. Eye-rolling is often accompanied by crossing of the arms and throwing the head or body back in an increased effort to symbolise avoidance or displeasure.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kahlbaugh|first1=Patricia E.|last2=Haviland|first2=Jeannette M.|title=Nonverbal communication between parents and adolescents: A study of approach and avoidance behaviours|journal=Journal of Nonverbal Behaviour|volume=18|issue=1|pages=91–113|doi=10.1007/bf02169080|year=1994|s2cid=15487200 }}</ref>
A study conducted by John Gottman states that contemptuous behaviours like eye-rolling is the top factor of predicting divorce, followed by criticism, defensiveness, and stonewalling.<ref name="Divorce">{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/this-behaviour-is-the-top-predictor-of-divorce_us_572cc717e4b0bc9cb0468e06|title=This Behaviour Is The #1 Predictor Of Divorce, And You're Guilty Of It|last=Wong|first=Brittany|date=9 May 2016|work=Huffington Post|access-date=20 November 2017}}</ref>
In 2010, members of the city council of Elmhurst, Illinois, wished to make a law outlawing eye-rolling.<ref>{{cite web |date=21 July 2010 |title=Illinois Town Wants To Outlaw Eye-Rolling |url=https://consumerist.com/2010/07/21/illinois-town-wants-to-outlaw-eye-rolling/ |access-date=22 September 2025 |archive-date=1 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171101041144/https://consumerist.com/2010/07/21/illinois-town-wants-to-outlaw-eye-rolling/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
== Evolution == There has been much speculation about the hypothesis that eye-rolling is an evolutionary trait of women, which would explain why it is performed more by women than their male counterparts. Psychologists suggest that it was developed as "a low-risk way to express aggression and disapproval". Women in the past were more motivated to use survival tactics that did not involve physical violence in conflict including cut-eye, or side-eye, likely related to maternal instincts.<ref name="Evolution Explains">{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/an-anthropologist-explains-why-women-love-rolling-their-eyes-so-much/|title=Evolution Explains Why Women Love Rolling Their Eyes So Much|last=Bess|first=Gabby|date=18 February 2016|work=Broadly - Vice|access-date=20 November 2017}}</ref> The action of looking away in rejection or disapproval has been traced to many different cultures, who use eye-rolling for similar purposes, suggesting that it is a somewhat innate reaction to unpleasant stimuli.<ref name="When did we start rolling our eyes to express contempt?">{{cite web|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/life/explainer/2013/01/eye_rolling_why_do_people_roll_their_eyes_when_they_re_annoyed.html|title=When Did We Start Rolling Our Eyes to Express Contempt?|last=Wickman|first=Forrest|date=15 January 2013|work=Slate.|access-date=20 November 2017}}</ref>
==See also== * List of gestures
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{Commons category-inline|Rolling eyes}}
Category:Facial expressions Category:Gestures Category:Human eye