If you're a woman, you've most likely experienced it. Someone (usually a man) sees you walking down the street or sitting on the bus and tells you to smile. He wants you to smile for him. Otherwise, you're being rude and not conforming to his idea of what how you should arrange your face muscles. It's 100 percent bananas, but it happens literally every day to women all over the world.
If you've ever seen a woman looking a bit standoffish and been tempted to try to get her to smile, first of all, don't. Secondly, it may help you to read the following Twitter thread that explains why some women may sometimes come off as "rude" when they're in public. It's creepy and also super enlightening.
via: Shutterstock
Lily Evans was taking her dog for a walk when she encountered a man in the park — a pretty normal, everyday occurrence, right? Unfortunately, what happened next was anything but ordinary.Evans took to Twitter after the encounter to share her experience.
Why some women are "rude" or "cold" or "standoffish" to men in public: a thread— 🦊LilyEvans🦊 (@🦊LilyEvans🦊)1515118215.0
The encounter seemed to start innocently enough.
It started innocently enough. He asked my dog's name, and then mine. I asked for his and we shook hands. I hate mak… https://t.co/iaQDHxomby— 🦊LilyEvans🦊 (@🦊LilyEvans🦊)1515118364.0
If you're a woman reading this, the question may have already struck you as odd. Evans then tried to extricate herself from the conversation.
About 200 yards away, I paused to let Echo sniff some stuff and text a friend. "Hey, I thought you were going home?… https://t.co/OBMpt0hRSS— 🦊LilyEvans🦊 (@🦊LilyEvans🦊)1515118561.0
Things continued to get worse.
He asked if I have family around. I said no. And then he asked me if I live alone. So now a strange man, over 6 fee… https://t.co/1ijMu57rvY— 🦊LilyEvans🦊 (@🦊LilyEvans🦊)1515118744.0
As alarm bells rang in her head, Evans finally started tugging on her dog's leash to get away from the guy.
I start tugging the leash to get across the street and he asks for a hug. Before I can say no he wraps his arms aro… https://t.co/5h6gQvnuve— 🦊LilyEvans🦊 (@🦊LilyEvans🦊)1515118908.0
Finally, the man let her go and Evans was free.
I had to take an alternate route home, in the dark, constantly checking behind me to make sure I wasn't being follo… https://t.co/Hn8MFHjsG1— 🦊LilyEvans🦊 (@🦊LilyEvans🦊)1515119036.0
As Evans points out, getting back to her home didn't necessarily mark the end of the encounter.
I've experienced this over and over and OVER, and yet I STILL try to give people the benefit of the doubt because I… https://t.co/cTrKQfDl7h— 🦊LilyEvans🦊 (@🦊LilyEvans🦊)1515119242.0
Next time Evans takes her dog for a walk, she might be "rude."
And for those of you telling me to "stay safe" and protect myself: being "rude" IS a way of staying safe and protec… https://t.co/oPNp8BzxGL— 🦊LilyEvans🦊 (@🦊LilyEvans🦊)1515119776.0