Panel 1
Text:
Women smile for lots of reasons.
(A smiling woman in an apron and ball cap)
Woman: I smile at work because it’s good customer service.
Panel 2
(A cheerful-looking woman, smiling)
Woman: I smile when I make eye contact because it’s polite.
Panel 3
(A smiling, tattooed woman wearing a bikini top)
Woman: I smile when I’m dancing because I love my job.
Panel 4
(A smiling woman who looks worried)
Woman: I’m a nervous smiler – I smile to defuse tension.
Panel 5
(A relaxed-looking, smiling woman)
Woman: I smile on the subway ’cause that’s where I listen to my favorite podcast.
Panel 6
(A smiling woman who is shrugging)
Woman: That’s just what my face does when it’s relaxed – I’ve got resting smiley face.
Panel 7
(A resigned-looking woman, smiling)
Woman: It feels awkward if someone smiles and you don’t smile back – they might call you a bitch or something.
Panel 8
(A woman smiling widely with raised eyebrows and wide eyes)
Woman: I use this particular smile to tell my friends to come get me away from whoever cornered me.
Panel 9
(A sad-looking woman with a slight smile)
Woman: I smile when I get catcalled because if I ignore catcallers, they might follow me.
Panel 10
(A scared-looking woman, smiling nervously)
Woman: I smile when someone is scaring me because I don’t want to make them angry.
Text:
Not the least of which is that they’re often told to smile.
Panel 11
(A smiling man)
Man:
You’re so pretty when you smile!
Panel 12
(A man with a pleased expression on his face, smiling)
Man: Hey girl, gimme a smile!
Text: And yet this bullshit continues:
Panel 13
(A scowling man)
Man: Look, if you didn’t want me to talk to you, you shouldn’t have been flirting with me. I came over because you smiled at me.
Panel 14
(A sneering man)
Man: If she didn’t like what I was saying, she should have stopped smiling.
Panel 15
(An angry-looking man)
Man: I wasn’t bothering her! Didn’t you see her smiling when we were talking?
Panel 16
(A confused-looking man)
Man: If she wanted to be left alone, why did she keep smiling at everyone?
Text:
So, as a public service announcement, please keep this in mind:
Panel 17
(A circular shield in which three women are smiling and hugging one another, with a banner above the shield and a banner below)
Top Banner Text:
Don’t assume invitation is the correct interpretation of my expression.
Bottom Banner Text:
I am under no obligation to talk to you.