Some women are refusing to smile Wednesday as a way to show solidarity with the women’s strike.
As the “Day Without a Woman” proceeds, some women plan to stop smiling, refrain from doing household chores and refuse to work, reports The Washington Post.
Women are especially refraining from smiling because they feel that women are forced to smile due to harassment from men. Women also feel that if they don’t, they’ll be accused of “resting bitch face,” according to some feminists.
“From the time you are small, as a woman you are encouraged to put on a friendly face,” activist Ariana Ascherl said. Her plans for the strike include protesting with the Democratic Socialists of America at the Supreme Court.
Ashcherl also plans to not do laundry or volunteer at her daughter’s school.
The Women’s March planned the Wednesday strike to purportedly show the importance of women and how they affect the economy. Organizers for the Women’s March called for women to stay home from work, not spend money and to wear red out of solidarity.
Other women also plan to stop smiling for the day.
“I’ll be striking from cooking and laundry for my partner, emotional work in my relationship and fake smiles and fake contentment,” a person wrote on a website advocating for the strike.
The calls for women to strike have come with some consequences. Various female teachers requested Wednesday off, a move that left both parents and children in a bad place. Some children are missing a day from school and parents are searching for alternative childcare while they are at work.
Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland announced Tuesday night that they would be shutting down, much to the dismay of parents.
“This is absolutely infuriating and uncalled for. Who gets punished here? The students. Especially those students who rely on the schools for food during the day. And never mind the fact that you’ve inconvenienced parents who now have to scramble for daycare at the last possible minute,” one person wrote on the district’s Facebook page.
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