Question
Do you, as a woman, feel annoyed when a man tells you to smile?
When I was around 12 the guy checking my grandma and I out at the register of the grocery store told me I'd be petty if I smiled.
Probably the #1 thing to make me not smile, and I remember being really upset with that comment. My grandma told him, "why should she? None of the models in the magazines smile." ?
I hate it because you're telling someone to express an emotion that maybe they're not feeling in the moment.
I got told it a lot by older men when I worked in customer service. Even though I was chatting and being very friendly. I'm just not smiley. I think gender comes into play because more often than not, it's a man saying this to a woman.
Yes. I do not exist to brighten anyone's day.
I was a cashier and super busy. An older guy told me I should smile for him. The lady behind him piped up with, "If you want service with a smile, go to McDonald's."
I was irritated because I had been chit-chatting him, then he just demanded a smile...
We should all start telling men to smile.
As an experiment, of course
I think it's rude and annoying but I work with over 500 men and I get this all the time and it's only the females the get told to smile or "you need to cheer up" even though they haven't spoken a word to me that's literally the first sentence out of their mouth. I feel her annoyance. Usually I'm just busy doing my job when a man will tell me to smile. When a guy is busy at work no one would stop and say hey SMILE!
Who stands at the gas pump with a random smile on their face? No one.
It's definitely annoying and has always seemed patronizing to me, and it always seems to be coming from men. I always give a little half smile because I feel awkward lol but leave it at that and go about my business. Women don't go around saying smile! To random strangers doing everyday things. When someone is by them self they're usually not just walking around smiling at everything lol.
Patronising, that's how I find it.
Men do it to women but never to other men. I'm not sure if they think it's s convo starter or what but it's annoying.
I just stare at them with raised eyebrows.
Blokes can call me 'luv' or 'darling' & I never get annoyed, being told to smile really p*sses me off. As of them talking to me suddenly makes me want to smile. Oh please!
I used to get this ALOT when I was younger. Always by older men. Pi$$ed me the fack off.
I ve never in my life told another human being what to do with their face ( except for my own kids if their walking around with a push up face cause they got in trouble ). So I can not fathom why a total stranger feels the need to comment on my face. Its Rude!
Demanding?? Seemed like more of suggestion...I mean you can take it or leave it...truthfully it shouldn't really affect you....(not you necessarily Pp I mean in general)
It's like "don't hold the door for me I'm having a bad day", "don't say hello to me I'm having a bad day" and omg "don't even think to suggest that I smile because I might be having a bad day".....lol....how does that sound...smh..lol
Someone telling me to smile out of no where would kind of make me laugh...so bam there goes the smile right there?...of course in my mind I'm like um..I do not know you but I'd start thinking...goodness was I really looking all mean standing here pumping this gas? Lol...maybe because I had to even get out the car...lol....you know when you're in the car ac blasting music bumpin then you have to get out to pump gas?
....I mean even if you did have a valid reason for being all sad/down...wow what a coincidence that someone tried to bring a smile to your face not even knowing about what you were even going through...
I'm the oddball here. I probably would've cracked a smile unless I was truly saddened. If I was saddened I would've shortly told him why. But smiling is contagious and even a forced smile makes you a little more happy. He was just trying to brighten her day by telling her to smile. Most of these responses make me visualize a bunch of mean ladies in public lol.
Yep. Exactly, this is my face I'll do with it what I please.
I've had men ask me what's wrong but seemed genuinely concerned, and that's something I can appreciate. If I see a stranger looking sad or upset I like to reach out as well.
But to tell me to smile so that I'll be prettier for you to look at ??
I get annoyed when anyone, male or female, tells me to smile. Most of the time I'm not scowling I'm deep in thought and even if I am upset about something, my facial expressions are mine to control. I find it condescending and intrusive for anyone to tell someone else what emotion to express.
I don't like when guys associate this with beauty. Like "you're pretty, you shouldn't be frowning." Uh, no. My frown is appropriate for how I'm feeling. Which I'm entitled to. And that doesn't mean I'm a prude. And what you think about my appearance is not a concern of mine. And no, I don't have to smile at your shallow compliment.
Anybody seen that YouTube video of a woman walking silently in NY being catcalled unprovoked? She had the best response to "smile, beautiful." I've used it a few times.
"Say something funny."
It absolutely annoys me! This is my face to do what I please with it. I don't owe anyone a smile, and I hate when men say that shat. It's even better when you respond to their BS with something they weren't expecting and they get all pissy about. Men don't walk around telling other men to smile, just women. Patronizing as hell. ?
I'd be willing to bet most men have never been told to smile by a random person on the street.
Why is it anyone's concern what my face looks like? It's not. It's rude and annoying when a random (usually a man) tells me to smile.
A man said that to me on a particularly bad day and he got an earful.
She also was a waitress/bartender for over 10 years and gets easily frustrated by guys being obnoxious. We were talking about this and she was wondering if she was being too sensitive or if she was justified.
I used to waitress and I also had plenty of men coming in telling me to smile. I would, because it was my place of work, but I feel irritated when I'm out at a store for example and I'm told to smile.
I can't imagine anyone going to up to my dh and telling him to smile. That's the difference, I don't see anyone telling men to smile.
I constantly have RBF. Bad. People constantly tell me to smile.. I just tell them to simply mind their business they have no clue what i have going on in my life..
Most people say im too young to be stressed..when i tell them my situation w my daughter everyone turns around real quick.
I should smile more.. I know that but im also not going to walk around cheesing ?? man or woman telling me I have the same response..
The guy yelled it at her, he said "Hey, it wouldn't hurt to smile!"
And she told him to mind his business, to which he got offended over.
Exactly pp, you would never tell a man to smile like that.
Yesterday I went out with my boyfriend went to watch a movie, me and him don't live together yet. but point is yesterday when he was dropping me off his like sleep over at my house witch the mom and dad lives. I said no,
his response was why is everyone deciding or making choices for you and their going to do the same with the baby, when I know that's not true. what he thinks is that my mom tells me not to sleep over. So he left all mad. and I felt in my heart that he went on and cheated on me...

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