Why Women Smile Analysis

In today’s society, women have natural smiles, but it's questioned as to why. The essay, “Why Women Smile,” wrote by Amy Cunningham as she elaborated her view of associating women with how they smile. I, personally, enjoyed this essay because I was able to put myself in Amy Cunningham’s shoes as she discussed her viewpoint, as well as the research she found. Cunningham’s views are similar to mine, which helped me relate to the essay very much. The main theme is this entry was Amy Cunningham’s opinion that women should execute smiles because they want, not because of the expectancy to have a grin on their face. As early as the 1800s, women have been idolized and publicized for their smile because it looks natural, appears attractive,
A large reason for this could be is that, despite the lack of sleep or troubles, women are phenomenal at keeping a smile through all situations. Moreover, Cunningham described a friend being pulled aside by a teacher from the lack of a smile (Cunningham 327). As the essay continues, Cunningham describes how smiles have impacted society for the betterment and, in some cases, just the opposite (Cunningham 326). Her opinion is that women should smile in light of wanting to, not for the pleasure and acceptance of others (Cunningham 326). I strongly agree with her view, on the base of, if a smile is truly not one’s own, then it should probably not even take on the role of a true
Controversially, a few areas troubled me. On the second page, there is a picture of a man smiling a true smile next to one of a forced smile (Cunningham 326). Little things like this can make or break an entry and, in my opinion, this section took away some affect. Yes, Dr. Ekman used the picture to correlate with his study but, in this essay, the picture would have made more sense to be of a woman (Cunningham 326). In addition, preceding page had information about women working and their roles they play (Cunningham 327). You can see this more so in the first paragraph of the page (Cunningham 327). Women in the work force may conduct roles in moves, work at a desk, or answer calls, and their superiors enjoy them to have a smile on their face. Furthermore, Cunningham adds that she wonders why men on the streets will call out “Hey, baby, smile! Life’s not that bad, is it?” (Cunningham 327). Although, women weren’t always expected to respond or seem animated, different times have different standards. Only privileged women’s smiles deemed appropriate for the time being (Cunningham 327). Cunningham elaborated this topic a great deal, showing her interest in the evolution of smiles. Moreover, smiling is a natural reflex that everyone does, but, as Cunningham described, more-so in women. “Why Women Smile” was full of information that differed from the 19th-Century up to today’s society and implied similarities over the