Comments on: Smile, Damn You, Smile

By: Dissented

Dissented — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 15:32:50 +0000

To the man who says smile—

How about you frown for an hour and get back to me.

By: grep|grrl » La checklist des privilèges masculins

grep|grrl » La checklist des privilèges masculins — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 00:52:34 +0000

[…] de parfaits inconnus ne viennent pas me voir et me disent de “sourire” (Plus : 1 […]

By: TheSleepingCreature

TheSleepingCreature — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 03:11:28 +0000

I’ve had this happen to me multiple times, though more often it seems to be members of my own gender telling me to do so– what happens more is that I’m told to hold my features in a “pleasant” or “ladylike” expression when I’m merely wearing a neutral face, neither smiling nor frowning.

By: Torri

Torri — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 17:26:41 +0000

hmmm never had that happen to me… did have a weirdo on a train tell me I had pretty eyes…
One thing I’d like to mention for the list is the expectation of ‘dirty language’ or just reasons not to use it. I have even today at 21 been told by my mother or grandmother ‘Don’t use language like that, it’s not lady-like’ and I think it’s one of the reasons I swear casually a lot today, it became an exercise of spite.

By: Prettier Than Napoleon: Smiles

Prettier Than Napoleon: Smiles — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 22:11:30 +0000

[…] The blogosphere previously discussed the phenomenon of men telling women they don’t know to smile. This more recent post sums up much of the discussion and delivers a stinging rebuke to the mood ogling smile evangelist set.Don’t mess with cancer patients. […]

By: blue lily

blue lily — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

As a visibly disabled person using a wheelchair, I have often been told to smile. I don’t believe it is about gender in my case because most of the sexist things male strangers attempt with women rarely happen to me — being neuter in my wheelchair and all. Sometimes it has been women telling me to smile, but the vast majority have been men.

Conversely, there have been at least two occasions where I was with other disabled friends and we were so clearly having fun we were told by male strangers that we were not disabled. Just like that, a declaration of WHAT we were not. Because sitting there in our chairs — laughing and grinning — we were obviously not their image of what we should be. Very curious. I’ve always thought these men were trying to square their sense of the order of the universe: disabled and sad, able and happy. Women must apparently be happy too.

By: feministe

feministe — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Smile! and Stranger
Recent conversations about telling random women on the street to smile, and worse, have been occurring at Alas, a Blog, Pinko Feminist Hellcat, and Jennworks. After last night I have a story to add. A friend and I were out on the town and decided to se…