If you’re anything like me, I'm willing to bet that someone, somewhere has told you that you look "intimidating." Excuse me, what? What’s up with society telling us that we have to look approachable, happy and absolutely ecstatic everywhere we go? Sorry world, that’s not going to work. I’m allowed to have feelings. I’m allowed to have emotions. I'm allowed to show them on my face. When I’m walking to the store or waiting to cross the street, excuse me for not having a huge, toothy grin. That’s just not my style. Especially if it’s raining, or a Monday. Or if I simply don't feel like it. My “resting bitch face” is just my face. And I’m not a bitch, unless I want to be. My day-to-day look shouldn’t intimidate you. It should empower you, as a woman, to be confident in yourself, to own your beliefs and speak your values. We are women and we are powerful. And if you're a man, sorry. I'm not here for your pleasure, aesthetically or otherwise.
Image credit: GIPHY
Girl power is stronger than ever right now. Women everywhere are uniting and empowering each other because we are fierce and we know it. So when girls post about #RBF, it makes me cringe. Some of the tweets that I found while searching are along the lines of, "sorry, I don't have RBF I wast just hungry." We’re reinforcing that our resting faces are “bitchy,” or that they’re anything less than *flawless.* Hello, America. This is the era of #nasty women. We have the right to be nasty. If one more guy on the street tells me to smile, or cheer up, I’m going to lose it.
Image Credit: GIPHY
Why is it called “resting bitch face,” anyway? It’s literally what my face does when it’s just chilling, completely relaxed and focused on what I’m going to do and the strong woman I am.. Sorry, I’m not here to look pretty. I’m here to make moves. I’m here to pave the way for myself, regardless of who or what is in my way. I’m not here to be a bitch, but get out of my way.
So, guess what? There’s actually *science* that backs up the whole RBF thing. It sounds crazy, but really. There are facts. The science behind this is the representation of contempt on your face. Well, the perception of it. In case you don’t know, contempt is a feeling that you're above others, or that your face is showing teeny, tiny implications of it. Our brains pick up on even the slightest signs of emotion, so it looks like you’re showing signs of contempt, even if you’re just scanning the magazines (Beyoncé is having TWINS?!) at the checkout counter. A company called Noldus actually developed a software, called Facereader, that analyzes 500 key points of the face (!!!) to see if signs of contempt, aka RBF, are present.That's insane and totally awesome.
I am a confident, determined woman. I’m not afraid to speak my mind and defend my values. I’m not afraid to say no, even if it bruises an ego or two. Not my problem. I know what I want and what I don’t want. Deal with it. This doesn’t make me a bitch. It makes me strong. It makes me someone you don’t want to f*** with. And I’m proud of that.
Image credit: GIPHY
