The RN: On "Smile"

After my last blog, a few people started sending me stuff about being told to smile. Apparently, I'm not the one who's sick of hearing this crap. Here is some of the stuff people sent me.

The Dirty Little Secret sent me this link:

Why are women so 'unhappy'?

The obsession with our happiness is troubling. But maybe dissatisfaction is a fairly normal reaction to injustice.

The Slow Dancer texted me this pic:

Yes, this.

One of my other friends posted this list on FB:

47. Being told to “smile” by a stranger. How about we tell you to go f*ck yourself? That’ll make us smile.

This article takes a more serious note, but actually reinforces what I was saying my last blog. You are not the decider of me:

“Smile, baby”: The words no woman wants to hear

Telling women to "smile" may seem a small thing -- until you consider what often happens when women don't want to.

It's possible this article was written by my doppelgänger. Really, I think she said everything I was thinking:

CHICK CHAT: It Is Not A Man’s Job To Demand Women To Smile

A man telling a woman to smile isn’t for her benefit, it’s for his benefit! Me not smiling doesn’t mean Nationwide isn’t on my side, or I won’t save 15 percent or more on car insurance by switching to Geico.
...
Do not tell me to smile! I am a grown woman who deals with adult issues and while 80 percent of the time my life is grand, I’m allowed the other 20 percent to be angry, sad, or any other emotion but happy and I don’t need to front about it.

At least this guy gets it:

‘I Stopped Telling Women to Smile
(and You Should, Too)’

DAMON YOUNG REFLECTS ON AN EXPERIENCE THAT MADE HIM GET RID OF AN ANNOYING HABIT

The point of all of this is simple; it's my choice when I smile. If you happen to catch one, be glad it was genuine. Those are the special ones.

Happiness and smiling aren't the same thing.