I've aged out, so I'm not a target any more.
I've never been one to walk around grinning like a chimp, so I used to get that a lot. Always from men. I highly doubt that you, or any other man, is regularly told by strangers to alter your expression for their satisfaction.
Not quite so sure about that, I am "told" to smile more, fairly often by women. My normal, polite response is "I didn't know I wasn't" (which leaves them wondering if there is some condition and they drop it), my other responses are just not say anything and walk away, or one that involves a you. Not the reaction they are hoping for.
It was what I wanted to say the other day, when my blood pressure was up due to a thief and an idiot employer, who generally pays more attention to their toys, then the stuff we keep around to keep things running.
I had a customer tell me that and I walked away. It is Thursday and I am now almost down to normal due to the whole incident.
Generally, I think people are naive enough to think whatever day they are having, so should you.
I once told an acquaintance that she should smile more (I would never, however, say that to a stranger), not for my benefit but for hers. Not presuming to tell her what to do but as a suggestion. She has a beautiful smile that brightens her face and is ‘infectious happy’ to those around her. I told her because I thought she would feel good knowing how pretty her smile is and how she may brighten another’s day just by smiling. I meant it as a compliment.
I participated in the strike yesterday from my paid work (although still did plenty of unpaid work in home and family). I closed my office and gave my assistant a partially paid day off (she's hourly and I paid her for 1/3 of a regular day). She was going to participate anyway, and the 1/3 pay was my own suggestion. I put up an out of office auto reply on my email. I did not spend money and wore red as I took my kids to and from school and CCD. Those women in my (shared) office whose employers did not allow them to take the day off chose to wear red in support.
The organizers did not do enough to make it happen in the best way possible. For those asking 'what about this type of job or that type of job and such-and-such business would have had to close' -- yes, that would be the point.
The best example of "the point" is the 1975 "Women's Day Off" in Iceland, where 90% of women participated in the strike--including both paid and unpaid labor inside and outside the home, and 10% of the entire nation's population participated in a rally/talk that same evening. Many many differences exist between the US in 2017 and Iceland in 1975 that made it difficult for yesterday's strike to gain anything close to that kind of traction. There is an enormous difference in population size, demographics, etc, plus the political climate then and now are worlds apart. As many have noted, Ronald Reagan would never have won the nomination of the Republican party in 2016.
I find it odd that so many women in the US not only do not identify as feminists but revile the word, while at the same time making flippant comments like "I voted Republican because I can afford my own abortion" and "I'm not aware of any rights I don't have." Those are actual comments I've heard from so-called "conservative" women. If it had not been for those feminists of the past and present, they would be lacking plenty of rights.
Here are a couple of links on the 1975 event and its outcome for those interested:
http://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/con...-equality-1975
https://mic.com/articles/113620/40-y...ike#.L9Qay09TI
I think any sentence that starts with "You should", is crossing a lot of boundaries.
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