The term “resting bitch face” has gained popularity over the last few years, even earning it a dozen definitions on Urban Dictionary including, “a girl, who naturally looks mean when her face is expressionless” and “a phenomenon in which the resting face lacks animation and appears to look bitchy at all times.”
I’ve heard almost all of my friends admit to suffering from “resting bitch face” at one time or another, and I’ve even been accused of portraying a “bitchy” look at times too. I think all girls feel the need to diagnose themselves with this ridiculous condition at some point because -- get this -- girls don’t smile 100% of the time.
Whaaaaat? You mean girls can be serious too?
While comical, “resting bitch face” represents a much larger issue, and that is a serious underlining sense of misogyny within this ridiculous gender norm. Think about it: when a man isn’t smiling, he’s viewed as serious, poised, or solemn. But when a woman isn’t smiling? She’s automatically a bitch. Nice.
I understand that “resting bitch face” is supposed to be light-hearted and funny, however, the repercussions of this phrase represent a mindset that is incredibly damaging to women. Think about how many times Hillary Clinton has been criticized for being “cold” and “unemotional." Maybe this is my interpretation, but Trump doesn’t exactly strike me as the warm and cuddly type either, yet Clinton is the one who faces the heat.
In a Humans of New York interview, Clinton addresses this by saying, “Sometimes I think I come across more in the “walled off” arena. And if I create that perception, then I take responsibility. I don’t view myself as cold or unemotional. And neither do my friends. And neither does my family.”
I don’t think Clinton is “walled off.” I think she’s a woman who takes her job seriously. I don’t think I look like a bitch when I’m focused on what my professors are saying in a lecture. I think I’m a woman who takes my job seriously.
The expectation that women are supposed to be happy butterflies who walk around with pretty expressions all the time is objectifying. A facial expression is a form of expression like any other, and criticizing women for choosing to portray a blank expression is just another form of hindering female expression. Women are constantly monitored and criticized by society as it is. The fact that we’re now being criticized for having an expressionless face is ridiculous.
This expectation stems from a misogynist belief that women shouldn’t be serious. It stems from a dark belief that women shouldn’t work hard or be in powerful positions, that women who want to be taken seriously look like bitches.
Ladies, I encourage you to stop apologizing for your blank expression. When you apologize for something that is completely normal, you’re apologizing for your own existence.
So no, I won’t apologize for having a “resting bitch face.” I have a blank expression some of the time, and that doesn’t make me look like a bitch.
