Resting bitch face

Jessica Bennett described shock at recognizing this photo showed her 'resting bitch face'.[1]

Resting bitch face, or bitchy resting face, is a term for a facial expression (or lack of expression) which unintentionally appears angry, annoyed or irritated.[1]

The concept has been studied by psychologists and may have psychological implications on facial biases, gender stereotypes, human judgment, and decision making.[2][3]

Origin

In a 2013-year end round-up of newly popular words and phrases New York Times writer Grant Barrett asserted the phrase dates back "at least ten years".[4]

The comedy group Broken People uploaded a parody public service announcement video titled "Bitchy Resting Face" (BRF) on the Funny or Die website in which male and female "sufferers" of an annoyed-looking blank expression ask for understanding from non-sufferers.[5] It has since gone on to become a popular Internet meme, and to become more commonly known as Resting Bitch Face (RBF).[1]

Cultural uptake

The term has become widely referred to in the media. It has made its way into lifestyle and fashion magazines for women such as Cosmopolitan and Elle, and been mentioned in published literature, both fiction and non-fiction.[6][7][8][9][10] Jessica Bennett also described the phenomenon in an August 1, 2015 article in the New York Times.[1]

Hadley Freeman wrote that since it appeared in the Broken People video, it had enjoyed a stratospheric rise, and pointed out that the male equivalent term Resting Asshole Face (RAF) highlighted in this video had not received the same degree of comment.[11] Texas Women's University academic Rene Paulson stated that those with resting bitch face have a stronger sense of self-awareness and a better ability to communicate,[12] whilst New York University psychologist Jonathan Freeman carried out a study showing that slightly angry facial expressions make other people think you are untrustworthy.[13][14]

Chloé Hogg, in a 2014 article in the journal Philological Quarterly, asserted that the phenomenon was not new, and offered Hyacinthe Rigaud's portrait of Louis XIV of France depicting his "bitchy resting face".[15] Levels of resting bitch face can vary greatly with different magnitudes and amounts of fierceness.

In 2015 CBS News reported that some plastic surgeons were using plastic surgery to help women with RBF.[16][17]

Explanations

In 2016, two researchers reported that a computer analysis using Noldus’s FaceReader indicated that celebrities previously described as exhibiting RBF showed a significantly higher level of contempt on the faces. This was shown by having "one side of the lip pulled back slightly [and] the eyes squinting a little," or "kind of a tightening around the eyes, and a little bit of raising of the corners of the lips—but not into a smile."[18] The research also found the face "in male and female faces in equal measure."

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Bennett, Jessica (August 1, 2015). "I’m Not Mad. That’s Just My RBF.". The New York Times. p. ST9. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015. In that moment, I joined the ranks of a tribe of women who suffer from the scourge known as "resting bitch face" or, increasingly, just RBF.
  2. ↑ Saedi, Goal Auzeen (August 8, 2015). "Do You Suffer From 'Bitchy Resting Face'?". Psychology Today. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
  3. ↑ Todorov, Alexander; Olivola, Christopher Y.; Dotsch, Ron; Mende-Siedlecki, Peter (2015). "Social Attributions from Faces: Determinants, Consequences, Accuracy, and Functional Significance" (PDF). Annual Review of Psychology 66: 519–45. doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143831. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
  4. ↑ Barrett, Grant (December 22, 2013). "A Wordnado of Words in 2013". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 18, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015. Dating back at least 10 years as a described concept but popularized in 2013 by a video made by the group Broken People.
  5. ↑ "Bitchy resting face". Broken People. May 22, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  6. ↑ Shi, Stephanie (June 4, 2015). "13 Struggles Only Women With Resting Bitch Face Understand". Cosmopolitan. Archived from the original on September 30, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  7. ↑ Rodulfo, Kristina (February 5, 2014). "I won't apologize for my 'bitchy resting face'". Elle. Archived from the original on February 1, 2015.
  8. ↑ Mortimer, Holly (2015). Blindsided. Butterfly Publishing. p. 15. ISBN 9781508448983.
  9. ↑ Simons, Stephanie (2014). "2". Chic-tionary: The Little Book of Fashion Faux-cabulary. New York: Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 9781629145464.
  10. ↑ Johnson, Zach (August 4, 2015). "Kristen Stewart Responds to Accusations That She Suffers From Resting Bitch Face: "I Actually Smile a Lot!"". E!. Archived from the original on November 11, 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2015. Kristen Stewart may not have a permanent grin on her face, à la Tom Cruise on a worldwide promo tour, but the actress doesn't suffer from resting bitch face, either. In fact, Stewart is tired of people assuming she's always unhappy. "The whole smiling thing is weird because I actually smile a lot," the actress admitted. "I literally want to be like, 'Dude, you would think I was cool if you got to know me.'"
  11. ↑ Freeman, Hadley (July 23, 2013). "Bitchy resting face: must it be taken so seriously?". The Guardian.
  12. ↑ Valenti, Lauren (September 9, 2015). "Resting Bitch Face Actually Makes You Better, Says Science". Marie Claire.
  13. ↑ Paulson, Rene (September 6, 2015). "Women with 'resting bitch face' are actually better communicators". Quartz magazine. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved November 12, 2015. Research has shown that people rely heavily on facial expressions and body language. Psychologist Albert Mehrabian, of the University of California, Los Angeles, conducted famous studies in the 1960s that found that interpreting someone’s communication is based mostly on nonverbal cues, like facial expression, body language and tone. Women confronted by a world that automatically attaches negative attributes to their non-smiling face must quickly learn how to communicate and also hone a finely-tuned awareness of both our own emotions and the emotions of those around us.
  14. ↑ Solon, Olivia (June 19, 2015). "'Bitchy resting face' makes you untrustworthy — and here's the scientific proof". Daily Mirror.
  15. ↑ Hogg, Chloé (Winter 2014). "Subject of Passions: Charles Le Brun and the Emotions of Absolutism". Philological Quarterly: 65–94. Archived from the original on November 11, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015. Hyacinthe Rigaud's famous portrait of Louis XIV depicts the absolute monarch's absolute physiognomic control as part of the attributes of royalty-what I'm tempted to call, in contemporary emotional parlance, Louis XIV's "bitchy resting face".
  16. ↑ "Seen At 11: A Cosmetic Cure For ‘Resting Bitch Face’". CBS News. October 26, 2015. Archived from the original on October 27, 2015. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  17. ↑ "13 bizarre but popular plastic surgery procedures". CBS News. October 26, 2015. Archived from the original on May 11, 2015. Retrieved November 12, 2015. According to Dr. Joseph Eviatar of Chelsea Cosmetic, more and more people are seeking medical treatment to help correct their natural resting bitch face.
  18. ↑ Gibson, Caitlin (February 2, 2016). "Scientists have discovered what causes Resting Bitch Face". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 10, 2016. “Something in the neutral expression of the face is relaying contempt, both to the software and to us.”

External links

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