The Death Glare

For a lot of people, their neutral mood face is a smile, or at the very least, nonthreatening. For a lot of INTJs, it’s the Death Glare (this affectionate name is courtesy of a old INTP friend of mine, who brought mine to my attention many years ago). Instead of exerting the effort to smile or frown, we seem to take the efficient route of doing nothing at all, looking rather unpleasant in the process. The typical INTJ Glare seems to consist of a grim mouth, furrowed brow, and most importantly, a harsh piercing gaze.

But of course there are others who wear a neutral face when they aren’t exceedingly emotional- why is it that the INTJ Death Glare stands out? I believe it may be more noticed because we are already recognized as severe individuals, or perhaps because we aren’t easily cowed into averting our gazes and it makes others uncomfortable. Maybe we wear it while we think, and it gets a lot more use than our smiles or frowns. Maybe all that time spent reading and on the computer is making us go blind, and we squint like we’re angry when we’re focused. In all honesty, I’m not sure.

What I do know is that, despite its unpleasant appearance, the Death Glare means nothing more than we’re not overwhelmed with emotion. We may look angry, but we probably aren’t. Constantly being asked if we’re upset about something is often perplexing, since we may not even realize we are using a Death Glare. Many times, we’re in a quite good mood, it just doesn’t show.

So next time you see somebody you suspect to be an INTJ wearing a distinct Death Glare, keep in mind that they may not be in a foul mood or be an unpleasant person- they might just be lost in thought or absorbed in whatever activity they’re partaking in at the time.