What is bitchy face syndrome and how to live with it

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

It is a very real diagnosis that can seriously ruin your life.

What is bitchy face syndrome

In 2013, a two-minute video appeared on YouTube. The video instantly became popular, scored almost eight million views and three thousand comments. The heroines of the video raise the problem of the "bitchy face" and tell how it ruins their lives. “I don’t want to hit you,” says one of the victims of the syndrome. "It's just my face like that."

This problem existed before, but after the video they began to talk about it seriously. The essence of the syndrome is that the face of its owner in a relaxed state looks angry and unfriendly, although the person does not actually experience these emotions. Due to certain features of appearance, facial expressions can express both discontent, contempt and anger, as well as ridicule, irritation or sadness.

People with bitchy face syndrome come across as a snob, serial killer, or mean high school mathematician.

As a result, strangers often make a premature conclusion that it is better not to approach this person, and friends over and over again pester with the question: "Are you okay?" The most famous victims of the syndrome are Anna Kendrick, Kristen Stewart, Victoria Beckham, Queen Elizabeth and Kanye West.

Why does the face look bitchy

Neuroscientists conducted the Throwing Shade: The Science of Resting Bitch Face experiment, during which they scanned more than 10 thousand pictures of human faces using a special program. And we came to the conclusion that a face is never 100% neutral. The normal rate is 97% neutrality and 3% other emotions. However, in "bitchy" individuals, the level of neutrality is lower: it is only 94%. And the percentage of emotions, respectively, is higher - as much as 6%. Moreover, the predominant among them is contempt.

Expression of negative emotions in a calm state is a consequence of the characteristics of the facial muscles. Here are the main ones:

Features of the face	What emotions can express
Lowered corners of the mouth	Discontent, sadness
Frowning or frown lines	Seriousness, anger
Insufficiently open gaze	Indifference, arrogance
The corner of the lips is slightly pulled back, the eyes are slightly squinted	Contempt
Raised corners of lips without a smile	Contempt, arrogance

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Most often, spasmodic muscles of the face and a slowdown in blood circulation and lymph flow are to blame. Another reason is poor posture, in which the entire muscle tissue of the face is displaced. The clarity of the oval is lost, ptosis appears, swelling, the corners of the lips crawl down, and the nasolabial folds become deeper.

In addition, the external signs of the evil face syndrome can also be a consequence of poor vision: a person constantly squints, straining his facial muscles, and over time this becomes a habit.

Why the main victims of the syndrome are women

The study showed Throwing Shade: The Science of Resting Bitch Face that bitchy face syndrome is common in both men and women. This is a general problem not related to gender differences. Any person, regardless of gender, may have lowered corners of the mouth, frowned eyebrows and insufficiently open eyes, but the paradox is that men do not suffer from bitchy face syndrome.

Scientists explain Resting bitch face’is real, scientists say this by the fact that the phenomenon is not related to physiology, but to social norms. For men, a serious, stern or even angry face is in the order of things. In the mass consciousness, it is associated with Brooding men, smiling women seen as sexy: study with strength, intelligence, determination and sexuality.

No one calls men bitches if their face looks serious or dull.

Women with a serious or stern face are often accused of arrogance. And it's all about gender stereotypes. There is a social construct in society: "A woman should be gentle."It developed in the previous centuries, when a girl was assigned the role of a housewife and a “good wife” in society. She did not have financial independence and equality with men, and the smile on her face was a manifestation of humility.

Much has changed since then, but the social attitude has remained. Brooding men, smiling women seen as sexy: study continue to suffer from gender stereotypes. They can easily be called bitches because of an unfriendly expression on their faces, refuse a job or dissolve a lot of gossip behind their backs.

How the syndrome ruins life

People judge how your looks betray your personality about others by their appearance. And no matter how we try to change this, the first impression is formed by Social Attributions from Faces: Determinants, Consequences, Accuracy and Functional Significance in one tenth of a second - faster than a person can realize something. At the same time, the brain has stable reactions to certain facial features:

• Outwardly attractive person seems to us Social Attributions from Faces: Determinants, Consequences, Accuracy and Functional Significance to be more competent and intelligent.
• A pronounced chin, a large nose, and a narrow face are associated with imperiousness and a tendency to dominate.
• Big eyes or an open look are kindness, naivety, humility.
• People with a wide face and chubby cheeks seem kind and open.

Based on all of this, a person with bitchy face syndrome will almost always make a bad first impression. Others may think that he is an arrogant snob and despises everyone, although in reality this is not at all the case. This can be a hindrance both at a party and when applying for a job or at a business meeting. It is proven that people with attractive appearance are more successful and earn 10-12% more Dan Hamermesh on the Economics of Beauty: Attractive People Are More Successful.

How to recognize the syndrome in yourself

Check your appearance with FaceReader. In the picture, the face should be full-face and in a relaxed, calm state. The higher the quality of the photo, the more accurate the result.

A significant disadvantage of the program is that it does not give a ratio of emotions as a percentage, so it is impossible to say for sure whether you have a syndrome. But if contempt is present or prevalent among the emotions, then there is a possibility that you still have it. Here are the results of Lifehacker's employees:

The face of the leading Lifehacker Irina Rogava is neutral, but expresses surprise, fear, disgust and contempt

The face of our videographer Olesya Shishko is neutral, but the predominant emotion is happiness

The face of the author Lisa Platonova in a calm state expresses surprise, anger and contempt

In addition, there are indirect signs of the syndrome:

• You don't recognize yourself in photographs.
• You are constantly being told: “Don't be sad” and asked to smile.
• You are often asked: "Are you dissatisfied with something?"
• You have a reputation for being tough, although you don't know how you deserve it.
• They do not ask you for directions on the street, they do not get to know you and go around.

How to live with bitchy face syndrome

Massage your face

He is not able to remove wrinkles and rejuvenate. But the effect is still there: the procedure helps the Analysis of morphological changes after facial massage by a novel approach using three-dimensional computed tomography to tighten the oval, cope with tight muscles and relax them. In addition, the face after the massage looks fresher and more rested.

Massage can be done by a beautician or on your own. For this, there are many special devices that greatly simplify the process. Important: to get results, massage should be done regularly.

Work on facial expressions

In the company of friends and loved ones, you can be yourself, but if you want to make a good impression in public, you have to control your emotions.

For example, you want to look more welcoming when communicating: try to smile a little, straining and lifting your cheeks a little. The corners of the lips will also rise automatically. This half-smile looks natural and does not cause rejection from others.

Sometimes a contemptuous expression arises from an insufficiently open gaze: it seems that a person is looking at everyone arrogantly. In such a situation, you need to try to open your eyes a little wider: the look will become more wide open and not so depressed.

Correct your face with makeup

• The gaze may seem depressed or tired due to the impending century. The problem can be corrected with makeup: draw arrows and lightly touch the inner corners of the eyes with light shadows or pencil. The “tail” of the arrow should aim upward. Do not lower it so that the look does not seem sad.
• To give your face a fresh look, apply blush to the apples of your cheeks and blend them.
• Do not use foundation that is too dense if you have pronounced wrinkles. The tone will gather in folds, emphasizing them.

See a beautician

Manifestations of bitchy face syndrome can be removed with the help of cosmetics: mimic wrinkles on the forehead and bridge of the nose are smoothed with botox, the corners of the lips can be raised with it, and the nasolabial folds can be filled with a filler based on hyaluronic acid. But this is an extreme measure. It may be worth working on self-esteem first, rather than giving injections.

Don't take the problem too seriously

For the first time they started talking about the syndrome in the West, where a smile is a sign of politeness and an integral part of etiquette. People look welcoming and friendly, because it is so customary: this is a way to show your location to the interlocutor. And if a person does not smile, he violates social norms. And arrogance and contempt on the face even raise questions.

In Russia, however, things are different: it is not customary for us to smile for the sake of politeness, and the insincere smile of a stranger is alarming. We begin to think that he is a sycophant or a crook.

This feature of the mentality has evolved over the centuries: the life and life of the peasants was a hard struggle for existence, so frowning has become a standard facial expression.

To smile, you need a reason: a good mood, a pleasant companion, or a funny joke. It's just not accepted to do this.

Therefore, it is quite possible that you just made up a problem and everything is fine with you. And if you do not notice the consequences of bitchy face syndrome in your life, forget about it and do not look for unnecessary reasons for suffering.