It’s Sunday morning, you’re on your way to grab a cold brew, and as you’re listening to your fave podcast, a passerby interrupts you.
“You should smile!”
*Car screech*
Did he seriously just tell you to smile? Sadly, this scenario is all too familiar for most women. Tackling street harassment is no small feat, and this remark is one of the more frustrating disturbances in our daily commutes. So, we put together some of the reasons why we’re not smiling–and why we truly don’t need to explain it in the first place.
It’s really none of your damn business.
We can smile. We can frown. We can do cartwheels down the street if we want to. It’s still none of your business.
It’s street harassment.
It’s socially unacceptable, it makes us uncomfortable, and we feel unsafe.
I don’t want to smile.
Period.
Did you say something funny?
Yeah, we didn’t think so. We’ll keep walking.
Smiling causes laugh lines.
We’re preserving our smiling for our friends, family, and you know, not strangers.
I’ll smile when I want to.
In other breaking news, women can choose when to smile and when they don’t want to. Street harassment isn’t going to work.
Commenting on my appearance is completely inappropriate.
Fake smiles benefit neither parties.
I’m channeling Victoria Beckham.
As Victoria once said, maybe we’re just smiling on the inside.
I don’t want to talk to you.
…do we need to explain further?
Do I need a reason?
