As of late, mainstream media has been convoluted with reactions to Hillary Clinton’s demeanor throughout her presidential campaign. In response to MSNBC host Joe Scarborough’s tweet, “Smile. You just had a big night. #PrimaryDay”, the internet erupted in a feminist backlash, prompting a conversation about the underlying sexism behind women and anger.
While the media fails to comment on the dour facial expressions of male politicians, Clinton’s demeanor remains the central point of discussion. What gives rise to our obsession with women who possess stern bearing?
Anger is a sentiment we all feel, express and at times repress. Yelling, screaming, harsh looks, and narrowed eyes are all common responses to bouts of anger. We often characterize anger with masculinity, rightfully so, from a biological standpoint. Anger, in terms of hormones and our brain chemistry is more characteristic of male behavior than of females. Males possess more testosterone in their bodies that biologically “justifies” their tendency to act out in rage. Male lions roar at threats to protect their kin and male fruit flies lunge at other males in response to pheromones. These tendencies are also generalized to human behavior, causing anger in women to seem off-putting and unnatural.
Fortunately, our social relationships are far more developed than those of the fruit fly. Although human advancement should assume that biology does not dictate cultural norms, we oftentimes let it alter our perceptions. Anger in men may be explained by the hard wiring of our limbic systems, but this explanation certainly does not moralize shaming anger in women.
The term, “resting bitch face” has been coined a typical pop-culture reference utilized by both men and women. Women use the phrase to describe other women, although the definition is inherently sexist. It implies that stern and serious looks indicate “bitchiness” associating the term solely with women.
Kyle Kerchaert, a junior at The George Washington University, comments on the notion that the term may be subtly sexist, “I suppose it’s sexist seeing as it implies that to have a resting bitch face isn’t normal. It implies that our normal face should be sunny, happy and welcoming, and when it’s not we need a negative name for it.”
She adds, “At the same time, I think women are the ones who are using it so they’re self-reinforcing the idea.” Since the term is not overtly sexist, women victimize other women, further perpetuating the stigma.
Giving a seemingly neutral face a negative connotation suggests that the women are responsible for upholding happy personas consistently.
Caroline Woods, a junior at Providence College, considers that the demeanors of men are held to a specific standard as well, “I think society thinks that women should be loving, friendly and nurturing all the time - and are called out when not, whereas men are expected to be the stern protectors and are therefore supposed to show that in their facial expression.”
If the connection between gender and emotional responses has a biological basis, it may be hard for us to disregard these common conceptions. Although our instincts may suggest otherwise, let’s divorce demographics from demeanors. We must breed a culture in which both sexes can smile, yell, scream, laugh and simply react to their surroundings without receiving judgment.
