Women, let's talk. How many times have you heard the term "resting bitch face?" It's a phrase that has sparked regular use in the past few years. It's a phrase used to describe the natural face of a person who normally has a "bitchy" expression. Now this is a term that, in my experience, has been predominantly used to describe women's faces; the word "bitch" is even in the title. A woman's face is deemed "bitchy" when they appear unhappy, annoyed, or tired. There's no smile on their face, right?

Or maybe, we could just not expect women to be smiling every second of every day. Maybe the woman is just deep in thought. Maybe the woman is tired, and just wants to get home without being approached by someone telling her "you should smile." Or maybe the woman is just not smiling. Maybe she is just going about her life, and why should she have to smile when she's filing papers or taking the subway?

The idea that women are expected to behave a certain way extends even to their every day facial expression. This connects to the idea that women are expected to be pretty, to be attractive for everyone around them. A woman is there to be admired, and to present herself positively so that no one has to look at her when she appears unattractive. This may sound extreme, but many women (especially those deemed with resting bitch face) have been told they should "smile more," or that they're "acting bitchy" because they are expressing an opinion passionately. Many women's resting face (their face when they are not expressing any type of specific emotion) will appear "unattractive." Many women do not look like celebrities when they're grocery shopping or writing a check. They're trying to live their lives without having to look beautiful for the rest of the world.

The term "resting bitch face," as described by Wikipedia, is "a term for a facial expression (or lack of expression) which unintentionally appears angry, annoyed or irritated." Wikipedia goes further to state that the concept may have "psychological implications" on gender stereotypes. According to Urban Dictionary, resting bitch face is used to describe "a person, usually a girl, who naturally looks mean when her face is expressionless, without meaning to." There has even been behavioral research done on resting bitch face, leading to the discovery that the expression is usually "a tightening around the eyes, and a little bit of raising of the corners of the lips--but not into a smile." This explanation, described by behavioral researchers Abbe Macbeth and Jason Rogers, was concluded after studying faces of celebrities (almost all women) who had been labeled as having resting bitch face. The study also concluded that resting bitch face in male and female faces are equal in measure. This means that "the idea of RBF as a predominantly female phenomenon has little to do with facial psychology and more to do with social norms."

With this in mind, what is the solution to the phenomenon of resting bitch face? Well, for starters, men and women alike should stop using "bitch" to describe predominantly female phenomenons. In fact, men and women shouldn't call women bitches to begin with. Second, we can stop objectifying women's faces and bodies by constantly expecting them to look attractive for us. A woman does not owe anyone her attractiveness, and she should not be shamed for appearing however she wants to appear. Finally, the idea that women need to "lighten up and smile more" perpetuates rape culture. A woman bluntly turning down a man's unwanted advances with a cold "no" is too often looked upon as being "bitchy." It is too often seen as rude, callous, or unnecessary--as though a woman's decision to reject someone with authority in order to get the point across is wrong. Whenever a woman or girl is kinder, is gentler, and politely tries to reject advances, there seems to be the risk of the man not getting it, and continuing to pursue until the woman feels guilted into saying yes.

We should start the discussion about how something as "harmless" as resting bitch face really isn't harmless at all, but another way in which to police and control women.