me irl

I think having anyone tell you to smile more in any situation that isn't a posed photo is creepy because it's invalidating your emotional state, or telling you to stop feeling your feelings and replace them with how the other person wants you to feel... the most fucked-up instance of this that's happened to me was when a female therapist suggested "smiling more" as a prescription for depression.

All that aside, I have actually been catcalled on the street by women, and since it doesn't happen to me all the time I just found it funny. I have also been complimented in the office on my appearance by a female supervisor and it felt creepy, but had much worse sexual harassment from a male boss who apparently wasn't even gay, just doing it to mess with me.

Imagine getting a compliment as a man lmao 🤣, shit be wild yo

That's the experience for some neurodivergent or somehow naïve women the first time. I was one of them (I thought older men were being kind with my teenage self). Then you start getting the same comment again and again: it often feels insincere. You start suspecting and learning about all the ways [mostly] men can be manipulating or even dangerous in the streets. It starts becoming bittersweet; you learn to ignore it just in case it's the people with bad intentions. You know that, if someone really wants to tell you that you're pretty or something, they will make an effort to make you feel safer too. And then, you are in your twenties and those men don't talk to you nearly as often, and it's a relief. As a heterosexual/bisexual woman, you hope that the rest of men can see you as more than a pretty body: a human with dreams, hobbies sense of humor, intelligence, whatever. Sometimes it's scary to know that many men don't, but many others do, so... yeah, my leftism hopes it gets better, as with many other social issues.

That's my experience.

I still remember the compliment i got about my eyebrows back in high school. I got super flustered and ran out of the class. I have a love/cringe relationship with that moment.

A woman once told me that. Oh boy, did that stick with me for a long time.

A girl also told me I have nice eyes during high school. That was literally one of the bitterly few highlights of high school for me.

This would actually require dweebs leaving their basements.

women don't do that, because they subconsciously know like 80% of men (including me) would see that as an opportunity for a pickup line, like "I would, if you went out with me" or "a hug/kiss would cheer me up" or some other borderline creepy stuff.

The disconnect between women and men is sad. Women say soo many things with the best of intentions, that just end up cutting way too deep and vice versa.

Pretty sure would smile a lot more if they received more positive attention ngl.

It was pretty funny when women thought "how would you feel if" would work in this case. They clearly didn't know how starved of positive attention men are.

A lady told me I have nice eyes once. That was 20+ years ago and I’ve never forgotten that shit.

You look cute! - nice

You should smile more. - wtf

I'd just look around to see who else is in on the joke