Why don’t European women (especially French?) smile for photos?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That is very simple. Huge, open mouth simles with all the teeth showing are vulgar.
Everyone knows this. Well, apartently not in the U.S.

What is so vlugar with all the teeth showing?

It’s not necessarily vulgar, but many times it’s forced, not sincere. It’s fake.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Americans smile so much because we're a land of immigrants... helps convey a non-threatening message when meeting. And over the years its become a common part of the culture.

+100. Plus we're a country of dreamers and entrepreneurs. It helps to be positive when you're selling something. (And I mean this in the best possible way, as an immigrant this is one of my most favorite traits about America.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Americans smile so much because we're a land of immigrants... helps convey a non-threatening message when meeting. And over the years its become a common part of the culture.

+100. Plus we're a country of dreamers and entrepreneurs. It helps to be positive when you're selling something. (And I mean this in the best possible way, as an immigrant this is one of my most favorite traits about America.)

That’s a very nice thing to say, but I respectfully disagree. They may have smiles plastered on their faces but it’s a facade for many Americans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Americans smile so much because we're a land of immigrants... helps convey a non-threatening message when meeting. And over the years its become a common part of the culture.

+100. Plus we're a country of dreamers and entrepreneurs. It helps to be positive when you're selling something. (And I mean this in the best possible way, as an immigrant this is one of my most favorite traits about America.)

That’s a very nice thing to say, but I respectfully disagree. They may have smiles plastered on their faces but it’s a facade for many Americans.

This! Plus it's ok to experience ALL of the emotions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Americans smile so much because we're a land of immigrants... helps convey a non-threatening message when meeting. And over the years its become a common part of the culture.

+100. Plus we're a country of dreamers and entrepreneurs. It helps to be positive when you're selling something. (And I mean this in the best possible way, as an immigrant this is one of my most favorite traits about America.)

“Smiling Faces Sometimes” by The Undisputed Truth, pretty much sums up Americans’ eager smiles.

[Anonymous]

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/71705/see-how-yearbook-photos-have-evolved-over-past-century

There actually have been studies done on the evolution of yearbook photos.

As the 20th century wore on, the classic posed smile we adopt today began to emerge. An algorithm measuring the yearbook photos' shifting degrees of lip curvature supports this, and the trend can also be clearly observed in the composite images. Notably, this was around the same time that Kodak began releasing advertisements of happy people "smiling for the camera." The authors of the paper suggest this had a significant impact on how people chose to pose for their pictures.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Americans smile so much because we're a land of immigrants... helps convey a non-threatening message when meeting. And over the years its become a common part of the culture.

+100. Plus we're a country of dreamers and entrepreneurs. It helps to be positive when you're selling something. (And I mean this in the best possible way, as an immigrant this is one of my most favorite traits about America.)

That’s a very nice thing to say, but I respectfully disagree. They may have smiles plastered on their faces but it’s a facade for many Americans.

Totally I agree it can be a facade, but it can also be genuine. And FWIW, even a fake smile can sometimes help make everyone's day a little easier. Where I'm from originally, there's nothing more depressing than a rainy winter day and everyone openly grouchy and complaining on top of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Americans smile so much because we're a land of immigrants... helps convey a non-threatening message when meeting. And over the years its become a common part of the culture.

+100. Plus we're a country of dreamers and entrepreneurs. It helps to be positive when you're selling something. (And I mean this in the best possible way, as an immigrant this is one of my most favorite traits about America.)

That’s a very nice thing to say, but I respectfully disagree. They may have smiles plastered on their faces but it’s a facade for many Americans.

Totally I agree it can be a facade, but it can also be genuine. And FWIW, even a fake smile can sometimes help make everyone's day a little easier. Where I'm from originally, there's nothing more depressing than a rainy winter day and everyone openly grouchy and complaining on top of it.

Can I ask where you're from originally?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, I lived in Europe for many years, in several countries. In my experience, eastern europeans are far far less likely to smile in photos and feel that it is corny. There are basically entire countries filled with family pictures of everyone constantly looking like a relative just died. Germany to some extent is similar - they do not like to put on a grin in their photo unless something overwhelmingly joyous is happening at the moment.

It's so funny you say that - my family is Eastern European originally (Jewish!), and my mom has a whole wall of old family photos in my childhood home. Everyone looks like they have just gotten the worst news of their life, and now someone's here to memorialize that moment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, I lived in Europe for many years, in several countries. In my experience, eastern europeans are far far less likely to smile in photos and feel that it is corny. There are basically entire countries filled with family pictures of everyone constantly looking like a relative just died. Germany to some extent is similar - they do not like to put on a grin in their photo unless something overwhelmingly joyous is happening at the moment.

It's so funny you say that - my family is Eastern European originally (Jewish!), and my mom has a whole wall of old family photos in my childhood home. Everyone looks like they have just gotten the worst news of their life, and now someone's here to memorialize that moment.

This is true of my Indian relatives back home too.

[Anonymous]

Google image of typical American women exaggerated smiles in their curated social media. This looks sooooo fake (and crazy!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Google image of typical American women exaggerated smiles in their curated social media. This looks sooooo fake (and crazy!)

+1000

The expression in the second picture, of the woman scrunching her nose and eyes, has become ubiquitous lately. It’s not a good look!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Google image of typical American women exaggerated smiles in their curated social media. This looks sooooo fake (and crazy!)

They are smiling so hard that their gums are showing. Are they being tickled? This is neither natural nor attractive, but I am sure I am the minority in thinking this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Americans smile so much because we're a land of immigrants... helps convey a non-threatening message when meeting. And over the years its become a common part of the culture.

+100. Plus we're a country of dreamers and entrepreneurs. It helps to be positive when you're selling something. (And I mean this in the best possible way, as an immigrant this is one of my most favorite traits about America.)

That’s a very nice thing to say, but I respectfully disagree. They may have smiles plastered on their faces but it’s a facade for many Americans.

Totally I agree it can be a facade, but it can also be genuine. And FWIW, even a fake smile can sometimes help make everyone's day a little easier. Where I'm from originally, there's nothing more depressing than a rainy winter day and everyone openly grouchy and complaining on top of it.

Can I ask where you're from originally?

I'd rather not, although my birth country is probably not the only one. Also, it seems we're talking about different things. Obviously these Disney-type smiles in social media are staged. I was talking more about generally having a friendly attitude when dealing with other people in public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, where are you getting this? All the Europeans I know smile in photos.

I do think Europeans smile less than Americans on average. It's not about trying to look more serious. There is just less imperative to be cheerful in European cultures. Americans smile when they are happy, but also when they are nervous, scared, insecure, even sometimes when they are angry. It is actually a peculiar cultural trait that people in other countries sometimes find off-putting because it comes off as disingenuous.

I work with immigrants in the US a lot and I have noticed that often when they arrive they don't smile a lot but that after about 6 months they can become very smiley. I used to think this was because they were settling in and becoming more relaxed and happy. But now that I am deeper into my career, I think what actually happens is that once they have been interacting with Americans for a while (especially if they work in service-oriented jobs) they start to reflexively smile in greeting because this is something a lot of Americans do. Also, Americans often get offended by people in service roles who don't smile at them (even if the person is doing their job perfectly). So many immigrants learn to smile as a form of defense, as though to say "I am not threatening."

Again, this does not happen in the other countries where I have lived and worked.

Exactly right. I'm the French poster above, and this is what I've noticed too.

Women in particular who don't smile for no reason are accused of having a "resting bitch face."

Think about that. They are literally criticized for whether they hold their lips in a way that pleases others when they are just standing there minding their own business.

Pathetic. We really are not your eye candy.

I agree with this and frankly, I love it. I also like that they're not so customer service focused that salespeople are all up in your business. I just want to browse, I will find you if I need you! That plastered on smile some Americans have strikes me as disingenuous.

I am from NY and we're not really known for being the smiliest people either.

This. Especially true for non-white women.