this post was submitted on 03 Aug 2025
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Witches VS Patriarchy
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I don’t think it takes empathy to notice that someone is not smiling. It does take a controlling personality to tell them to smile, though.
I don't think it necessarily takes a "controlling personality" to tell somebody to smile more. It can totally be the case, but it can also be a misguided attempt at giving unsolicited advice. Would it be better for everyone if people smiled more? Absolutely, but it's not always possible, and telling somebody to do it is unlikely to help.
The world doesn't become a better place through appearances. People should smile if they're actually happy, not because they're being coerced into it.
Smiling is not just an appearance. There have been several studies that show smiling improves person's mood, even when it's artificial. It's called Facial Feedback Hypothesis. So yes, being reminded to smile, can be a genuine advice to improve one's mood. It's still not the best approach though.
It absolutely takes a controlling personality to dare to presume that people around you need to smile to satisfy the idea of a greater good based on social aesthetics. You can't just decide how others should feel.
Smiling isn't some trivial task like recycling where you can tell people to 'just do it because it's good for the environment'. People have their own lives going on. With their own trauma, grief, and hardships that you may not understand. They could be emotionally exhausted from barely keeping it together instead of mentally breaking down in public.
Hey maybe you should fucking smile more, don't care if you're smiling right now, do as I say little baby.