Why do women like to stare at you with this constipated-like expression, yet try to flash a smile at the most random and awkward intervals, even though you haven't been personally interacting with them that much?
This shit's been happening at my new job, and it's kind of making me worry.
Because they're busy and life is suffering for most people but they're trying to be polite because if they don't autists like you will either come up to them and command them in fake happy tones to "Smile!" or come on here complaining that they never smile at you at all.
Not everything is about you.
>because if they don't autists like you will either come up to them and command them in fake happy tones to "Smile!"
that's a problem with men in general, not autists.
it's also pretty rude to smile at people you're not actively engaging with.
>it's also pretty rude to smile at people you're not actively engaging with.
What the fuck? No, it isn't. Laughing at someone and smiling in their direction are different things.
>it's also pretty rude to smile at people you're not actively engaging with
I'm not even going to touch this, autist.
Not her, but holy shit is smiling at people you don't know disrespectful and misleading. You only reserve that for people close to you. Otherwise, it's a violation of social cues and personal boundaries.
>mfw the ethnocentrism of these posts
OP is a colleague who's been introduced to them and someone they've spoken to (even if not that much) and will work more with in the future.
>disrespectful and misleading
Literally how is it disrespectful to smile at someone?
OP never mentioned being a foreigner and what he describes is a western tendency. Therefore, all parties involved are most likely from a western country. Are you triggered or something? Or are you the autist OP who can't understand context clues?
There is a guy who posts this exact kind of thread like once a day. Usually he's bitching because girls didn't smile at him.
Because you don't know them well enough. You're not close friends, you're not romantically involved, you're not family, you're not intimate enough with them for such an intimate form of expression. That's one of the most basic and rude things you can do without being upfront with the person. And communicates all the wrong social cues that aren't permitted by your current standing with one another. Especially for coworkers, where it's highly unprofessional and misconductive.
That applies to all of Jow Forums, if OP felt his region/culture was relevant they should've included it.
it's in western cultures that smiling at people you don't know well is rude, obvious american. and even then, you're still assuming their cultural practises are the same to yours. which is not only ethnocentric, but downright racist.
>such an intimate form of expression.
Where the fuck are you from if smiling constitutes an intimate form of expression? I smile at strangers if I'm in a good mood, I better smile at customers at my job, you better believe I smile at the coworkers I work with every day.
>highly unprofessional
There's nothing unprofessional about showing basic goodwill to people you interact with, you are still dealing with people in business interaction. Feeling mutual sympathy actually makes it a lot easier to smooth over potential conflict or differing points of view.
Really wondering if this is bait at this point.
He shouldn't have to state his background. His culture is as much of his identity and worldview as yours. It's your fault for making that assumption in the first place.
Not that user but I'm Dutch and while we're not exactly known for loving small talk or hollow pleasantries, smiling at people is definitely fine. I've never heard of this being a thing either despite living in a very internationally mixed student housing where differences like these are a common topic of discussion.
I knew this was a bait thread but be a little less obvious next time.
>Where the fuck are you from if smiling constitutes an intimate form of expression?
Because it is intimate. Any close forms of expression, like smiling, is intimate and not to be wasted on complete strangers, unless you're a creeper.
>I smile at strangers if I'm in a good mood
That's creeper behaviour.
>There's nothing unprofessional about showing basic goodwill to people you interact with
It's not showing goodwill. It's communicating that your relationship is closer than it really is, and closer than what is appropriate for a job.
>you are still dealing with people in business interaction
Then you do your job, not get cosy with people who are not your friends or significant other.
>smiling at people is definitely fine
Yeah, because it's okay in your culture. It's not okay in others. So showing that form of expression is rude unless you personally know the person.
get back in the gulag, ivan
Except OP still hasn't specified where the fuck he's from, and it would help if you gave concrete examples instead of making general statements about "other cultures".
Because he doesn't have to. The world isn't about you and only you, American. Other people, and other regions, have different ways of thinking, and different ways of doing things. That's been true throughout history. And you have to be completely ignorant (which is a stereotype many people still pinned to Americans since the Bush administration) to assume otherwise of another person.
The "problem" here is such a first world problem that there is no way OP (read: you) is anything but a burger.
>waaaah women tried to smile at me for no reason because I was looking at them!!!
it is pretty damn disrespectful, and in bad etiquette, to show any overt form of expression (ex.: smiling) to people you don't know all that much. if you're american, this might be really strange since you guys tend to be more expressive than one can stomach. but smiling communicates a lot, not to just who you're flashing it to, but to others around you. it instinctively communicates what your relationship is to that person. which, if there is none, comes off as suspicious or looking for something. in some cultures, smiling at the opposite sex alone is flirting (which might be op's case). it also says something about your character if you're always smiling. there was a recent thing in germany where invanka trump was visiting on behalf of her father, and the fact she was so smiley put a lot of germans off (mainly german women), who felt made her appear "dumb," "unintelligent," "blissfully ignorant" (probably like the real ivanka), and other similar insults.
smiling has a lot of meaning behind it. not the ones you intend.
>t. if you smile you are sexist bigot who hates minorities as it is sign of dominance and opression.
Get real, mate. I don't know from what kind of degenerate and miserable basement you are coming from, but smiliing is normal human interaction without any strings attached to it. What you are talking about is some bullshit taken from urban dystopia were any sign of human emotions is hated and considered as a threat.
I would be fucking embarassed writing this shit you just did as it is nothing more than attempt to destroy what is left of humanity in today's society. But perhaps, you are a vicitim of today's system and you believe in those words, in this case I can only feel sorry for you.
what he's talking about is basic practises from WHITE cultures, not minorities. aside from asian cultures, it's usually white cultures that put a lot of strings attached to smiling, mainly because of how INTIMATE smiling is to not just the people involved, but those within earshot. if you think there's no significant meaning behind a basic social cue, it's very evident of your limited worldview (and possibly american).
its called a nervous look and smile as she tries to quickly access danger and if she should freeze hoping you don't see her or flee and take her chances you cannot catch her from behind
It's basic socialising, autist. Even subtle, little body languages such as smiling as quite an impact on those who you interact with, and communicates quite a lot, despite what you were originally trying to convey.
I have yet to meet a non-white American culture where smiling to stranger is consider rude
Just to clarify, I'm talking about anyone not white and not american
White Europeans are included in that
Not white or* not american
In East Asian cultures like Korea and Vietnam will look at you weird and offended for smiling at a stranger.
Also,
>I have yet to meet...
I can tell.
Alright, I didn't go in those countries yet
I had no problems in Japan though
>I can tell.
No you can't
This has never, ever happened to anyone but you
>No you can't
Yeah, I can tell you have very little experience with non-American and non-white cultures, and still have racial bias towards them.
japan has routinely sucked the cock of western cultures since the post war era, so that's not surprising.
Thanks for proving that you can't.
Because, since I'm European and not American, I obviously have a lot of experience with non-american culture(s)
Sure you are. You adopt an American viewpoint. You adopt an American dialect and writing style. You adopt typical American racial views. You sure are European.
your lack of understanding to non-western cultures is still pretty damn obvious.
You mean smile and squinty eyes? That's a smile.. that's how you can tell a fake smile from a real smile. The eyes get involved.
If it seems exaggerated, either that's just how they do it, or they've learned this fact and they're faking even that.
You're still a racist with a very American-centric worldview.
Shut the fuck up you pretentious little shit. If smiling were rude in any fucking culture everybody in the hotel and other service industries would be on fucking top of it, yet that's not the fucking case. Shut the fuck up with your god damn pretentious better-than-thou hyper-awareness you fucking miserable cretin.
>If smiling were rude in any fucking culture everybody in the hotel and other service industries would be on fucking top of it
Because they have to cater to all sorts of cultures. Both the smiley and non-smiley ones. It also depends on the average demographics of said hotels, which can persist certain ethnocentric biases.
No, you fucking retard, that's not how it god damn works. a smile is god damn universal, even fucking primates will acknowledge this, yet somehow you won't because you've got ideas that you believe are so superior when even literal fucking monkeys understand and appreciate things you are trying to vilify.
This guy is right but normies here hate to admit it. Most societies don't encourage you to smile at strangers unless you're part of a business and you are just required to smiled and greet customers like a friend. In most countries you don't smile at random strangers on the street just because you make eye contact. You might if they randomly help you with something, but otherwise its reserved for people you know and are genuinely happy to see. Thats just how the human body works, otherwise you're just forcing a smile for the sake of it.
>a smile is god damn universal
No, it is not. Smiling, like most social cues, are subjective, contextual, and based on the cultures involved. In some cultures, smiling at a stranger can get you your arse kicked (ex.: Slavic and Hispanic cultures), or flirting if it's the opposite sex. In some cultures, smiling makes you look unintelligent (i.e.: Germanic cultures). In some cultures, smiling is enigmatic and to be treated with caution (ex.: Eurasian cultures). And in some cultures, smiling is as much of a whim as breathing (ex.: North American cultures). To believe otherwise is complete ethnocentrism and racism.
>You're American because I say so!
>American-centric worldview
Sadly, the world is American-centred because that shithole is the most powerful country in the world
There we go, you actually brought up the thing that matters, the fucking context.
A smile is universal no matter what you argue, everybody everywhere will recognize a genuine smile as a friendly gesture given the right circumstances.
Though you are still a fucking idiot for concluding that not knowing how to socialize is equal to racism/ethnocentricism/discrimination or whatever fucking dumb bullshit you're spewing.
>A smile is universal
No it is not. There's no such thing as universal body language and social cues. You have to be an ethnocentrist to believe otherwise.
>everybody everywhere will recognize a genuine smile as a friendly gesture given the right circumstances
Completely untrue, they will recognise it as depending on context and their cultural background. A simple smile can be completely hostile if from a stranger (as is in my culture). The idea that it's friendly across the board is racist and ethnocentric.
Welcome to the 21st century, era of communication and globalisation
You are hopeless. Wherever you come from, I hope you stay there, because apparently you are a very unwelcoming culture.
As opposed to a culture based around being fake as fuck to strangers? You don't care about them nor will you see them again. Its creepy to act happy and excited to see a stranger unless its a customer and you're an employee somewhere.