Shut it with Your Bitchy Resting Face Hate

Resting Bitch Face isn't bad -- it's awesome.

Do you smile all the time? No, no you don’t because if you did your face would fall off and you’d die. Just kidding. You wouldn’t die. But your face would hurt. A lot.

I have no issue with smiling. I love it! But I also have a major issue with smiling all the time to make everyone in my general vicinity feel safe, comfortable, or generally pleasant. My opinion may sound a bit harsh, but I’ve had what I deem to be a totally awesome Bitchy Resting Face my entire life. Here’s proof:

Resting bitch face, toddle-style.

Yeah. I don’t smile very much. But the thing is, when I do smile, I really mean it. So, when someone, say, a passerby says, “smile, girl!” I want to punch them in the face.

I know the wholeBitchy Resting Face discussion has been going for a while now, but I don’t think that it can be stated enough that it’s important that people do what they want to with their faces.

I think my anger about this particular subject was reignited a few weeks ago when some guest on “The Today Show” was talking about how important it is to smile. The basic gist of the conversation was that if you don’t smile people would find it incredibly difficult to talk to you. I’m sorry, but that’s bull. If you pretend-smile to attract people, you are straight up lying. I guarantee that if you let your personality shine through, people will like you whether you smile or not.

I know this issue can hit both genders, but as the term Bitchy Resting Face suggests, it’s typically applied to women who don’t smile. It’s like it’s a given that all women must smile at all times in order to make everyone around them feel good. As I stated before: That’s bull. Women are allowed to rock a stone face just as much as men are. So, can we call just agree that Bitchy Resting Face is a good thing and perhaps, just perhaps, it may not be a bad idea to just call it Resting Stern Face syndrome because everyone – men and women alike – don’t smile all the damn time.

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Image: Vladimir Pustovit

Abbie Stutzer

Writer, editor, and owner of Ginchy!, a freelance writing and editing company, and home funeral hub. Adores smart sex ed, sustainable ag, spooky history, women's health, feminism, horror, wine, and sci-fi.