{"id":50112,"date":"2021-02-17T01:15:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-17T01:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/127.0.0.1\/aee\/culture-smile\/"},"modified":"2023-04-25T15:39:36","modified_gmt":"2023-04-25T15:39:36","slug":"culture-smile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.allearsenglish.com\/culture-smile\/","title":{"rendered":"AEE 1524: Why You Should Not Tell A Woman To Smile"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you feel pressure to smile a lot?<\/p>\n

Do you think women are expected to smile more than men? <\/p>\n

We spoke about this recently, and we then decided it would be a great topic to dive into today. <\/p>\n

We\u2019re looking at how women tend to get asked to smile more than men, how this whole trend has evolved, and why this is such an important topic of conversation. <\/p>\n

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<\/div>\n

Looking At A Common Trend<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The reality is that women tend to be told to smile more often than men. <\/p>\n

There may be a variety of reasons for this, but it\u2019s a trend worth talking about. <\/p>\n

This may come across as demeaning or disrespectful to women, as it\u2019s not up to somebody else when or if they smile. <\/p>\n

Though smiling is such a positive thing, you don\u2019t have to smile just because somebody tells you to. <\/p>\n

There are a lot of thoughts and history to the idea that women are told to smile more than men. <\/p>\n

You can see this represented in this survey that was taken about this very subject. <\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.byteme.com\/pages\/womens-experiences<\/a><\/p>\n

98 percent of the women in survey have been instructed to smile a minimum of once. <\/p>\n

Generally, the more senior women were told to smile more than less senior women\u2014but the trend is still a very real one for women of all ages. <\/p>\n

There are a lot of great points within this survey that are worth checking out, but the idea here is that women are told to smile quite frequently. <\/p>\n

There is a lot of negativity to this as it shouldn\u2019t be up to a man to tell a woman to smile\u2014and likely the reverse wouldn\u2019t happen very often either. <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

There Is A Certain History To This Idea<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You may ask yourself what the big deal is? <\/p>\n

Why does it matter that so many women have been told to smile by men? <\/p>\n

Is this really a big problem?<\/p>\n

It is based on how it makes women feel, and there is also a certain history to this trend or idea. <\/p>\n

You\u2019ll want to check out this article\u2014\u201cWhy Do People Expect Women To Smile?\u201d by JR Thorpe July 6, 2017 https:\/\/www.bustle.com\/p\/why-do-people-expect-women-to-smile-67360<\/a><\/p>\n

In the article, they talk about how women smiling and laughing used to be considered mischievous, sinful, and it could even cause problems. <\/p>\n

Later in the 18th century, women were seen smiling in more works of art, and so this began to become mainstream and accepted. <\/p>\n

Eventually women smiling became used more in ads, and it was considered to be nice. <\/p>\n

The word \u201csubservient\u201d is even used, which is quite interesting. <\/p>\n

This shows that the idea evolved from a smile being potentially threatening almost to a certain expectation. <\/p>\n

It has however turned into something bigger and a sign of inequality, even in today\u2019s world. <\/p>\n

Women may feel they have to smile at work, so as not to come off as \u201cthreatening\u201d or other related reasons, both personally and professionally. <\/p>\n

The choice to smile or not should be made on your own, and yet many women feel the pressure to smile even when they don\u2019t feel like it. <\/p>\n

This is a gender issue within the culture, but it\u2019s also something that can be racially charged as well. <\/p>\n

\u201cWomen of color are subject to more than just sexist smiling-related baggage in U.S. culture; they are also subject to a long history of institutionalized racism that demanded smiles from people of color.\u201d <\/p>\n

This is a huge topic of conversation and one that you can be part of, as many natives will speak about this in a day where equality is such a focus within the culture. <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Many Women Share This Negative Experience<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This may be something that you have had some experience with, as it\u2019s so very common. <\/p>\n

We at AEE have had such experience with this, and it\u2019s important to talk about these and share with others. <\/p>\n

You may find that other people you talk to, particularly women, have had similar experiences and so it\u2019s an important topic of conversation. <\/p>\n

Lindsay remembers being in London and being told to smile when she was out one night. <\/p>\n

It was weird, and it made her uncomfortable.<\/p>\n

It actually became so ingrained in her, and she remembers it all these years later. <\/p>\n

Are you the type of person who naturally smiles a lot or do you feel like you have to do that because of society? <\/p>\n

Is this different in other cultures? <\/p>\n

Is this push for women to smile universal? <\/p>\n

Do you think that this will ever change or people will stop asking for women to smile? <\/p>\n

What do you think is the appropriate response if someone tells you to smile? <\/p>\n

This is certainly something to think about as it may happen to you at some point in time, and you want to be prepared for your reaction. <\/p>\n

Please avoid telling women to smile as a general rule!<\/p>\n

If you are worried if someone is upset, you can ask \u201cis everything ok?\u201d or \u201chow are you?\u201d but don\u2019t focus on women and don\u2019t focus on a smile. <\/p>\n

There is so much more to discuss here, and it may very well warrant a follow up. <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Takeaway<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Smiling with regards to women has changed greatly over time. <\/p>\n

It is not a good idea to tell a woman to smile, because it can be taken in the wrong way and come across as forced. <\/p>\n

Though smiling is a great positive thing, it\u2019s also something that should come naturally from someone. <\/p>\n

You don\u2019t ever want to make somebody, especially a women, feel uncomfortable or disrespected because you try to get them to smile when they may not feel like it. <\/p>\n

Tell us how this relates to your own culture, as it may be interesting to see if this is a universal trend that has evolved over time. <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

If you have any questions, please leave them below in the comments section. <\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019ll get back to you as soon as we can.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do you feel pressure to smile a lot? Do you think women are expected to smile more than men? We spoke about this recently, and we then decided it would be a great topic to dive into today. We\u2019re looking at how women tend to… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1013,"featured_media":43240,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"category":[276,1,281],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-culture","category-english-fluency","category-understanding-americans"],"acf":{"podcast_link":"https:\/\/www.podtrac.com\/pts\/redirect.mp3\/pdst.fm\/e\/chrt.fm\/track\/CB27B5\/traffic.megaphone.fm\/ALLE1356302994.mp3?updated=1648195908"},"yoast_head":"\nAEE 1524: Why You Should Not Tell A Woman To Smile | All Ears English Podcast<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn why you should avoid telling a woman to "just smile" in English and why this can be offensive to many women in American culture.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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