Amy Cunninghams Why Women Smile

General questions to be asked:

1. What is a smile for you?
2. What does it evoke in you? What can a smile bring you?
3. What does a smile represent?
4. What do you think is the reason why people smile?
5. Why do you smile?
6. Can you name a kind of smile that you know?
7. What do you think is the difference between a spontaneous smile and a practiced
smile?
Specific Questions related to the readings
1. After reading the essay, what do you think is smile for the author? Are you aware of the
facts about the kind of smile shes referring to.
2. As women, can you relate to the one being depicted in the essay, have you in any way felt
the weight of having to smile even if you dont feel like? Have you been obliged to
smile?
3. What does the lines If a woman's smile were truly her own, to be smiled or not,
according to how the woman felt, rather than according to what someone else needed, she
would smile more spontaneously, without ulterior, hidden motives.. Mean to you?
4. What is the main point of the essay?
5. Do you agree with what the author says? If yes, explain why and if not, explicate to us
why?
6. In the Philippine context, is the one being stressed about especially in the art of
smiling,by the author, relevant and relatable?
7. What do you think is being shown but not told?

Points to be discussed
Somehow there is a sense of forcefulness in the article on forcing the idea of smiling as a
boon to all female kind
Cunningham mixes some facts with opinions and the line between the two can be kind of
blurry.

Why Women Smile by Amy Cunningham

 Background on the author
Amy Cunningham was an American journalist and essayist. She grew up in Chicago, United
States, she studied English at University of Virginia. She worked as a freelance for various
known magazines since she graduated in 1977 and joined the staff of The Washingtonian in
1981. She decided for a change of career and is now a Funeral Director in New York City. She
sates that she came from an industry facing death to one that embraces it.
Outline
I. Smiling Woman as an American Archetype
A. The smile for Amy Cunningham
The essay starts and ends with Cunninghams thought on what a smile is for
her and what a smile ought to be. She tackles the essay in a kind of from a
specific-general-specific topic. From personal experience, it then tackles the
culture or nature of a smile, the effects it had in society and then it focuses
more on the American Context of smile and back to what she thinks of it/ After
reading the first two paragraphs what is do you think is a smile for
Cunningham?
1. Ones identity is associated with ones smile
B. Women still hide their thoughts behind their smiles
1. Smiling is the go-to expression for women on various occasions
C. Though it isnt all a bad thing of course.
As such, the most prevalent technique that can be seen in the article is
Lopates there is an attempt to pursue contrariety of ideas. Though she isnt
presenting opposing opinions in equal like, she may most likely assume that
one already knows the positive values of the smile. In this case she become
self-righteous in her opinions, which she late agrees on when she reflected on
her writing it.

Another technique used is the expansion and contraction of the self.

II. Nature and Culture of a Smile
A. Smiling as a blend of both nature and nurture
1. Smiling rates of girls and boys in their adolescence
2. Smiles are rooted from the greeting of the monkeys
3. Smiles is present as one grows from an infant
Separate the idea of the smile as a nature and nurture, contrast the two ideas.
B. Smile as a reflection of emotion
Because it becomes a reflection of ones emotion, people basically expresses
themselves through their smile. It signifies that a specific person has an idea of
a self and an identity.
1. It is different from one country to another.
Can bring up the American Smiling Industry and how is different for the
context in the Americans
2. There are different kinds of smiles
What is being discussed in this paragraph? How does Cunningham react like
to it? (There is a mixture of facts and the authors own personal opinion)
III. Women and Society
 A. The expectation of society in Women
(Historically, they were expected not to be responsive.) And also we can argue
that for women, the smile becomes an instrument for oppression. The smile
ceases to be merely a reflection of their sense of self but instead the smile
becomes their own identity. It becomes their own essence.
Smile also stops becoming a biological imperative for women, it becomes a
faade for them).
1. Presently, they are expected to smile regardless of class.
2. Evolution on the expectations on women
i.Womens unresponsive caricature as seen in paintings.
ii.The Golden age of Dutch Republic
iii.Women were no longer impassive.
From having no identity at the end women are assigned a singular identity
hahahahahahaha.

IV. United States and the misrepresentation of smiles

A. The smile burden on 19 Century African-American
th

B. American smiling industry

C. Smiling and activism
Smile for the Americans hahahahaha~~~~~

V. Women taking back their smiles

A. An authoritative smile. A genuine smile. Properly timed, it is tremendously powerful
B. To limit a woman to one expression is like editing down an orchestra to one instrument.
C. For a womans smile to be truly her own, it needs to be more spontaneous
D. Her smile was not meant to be seen by anyone and served its whole purpose in being
smiled.
Points to be discussed
There is a certain forcefulness on the idea of smile being an automatic feature for women.
I mean not every woman smiles all moments of their life.
Mixture of facts and opinions that they can be awfully blurry.

What I really didnt like about this article was how the author keeps making it seem like the
women in society today are basically forced to smile. Society and media may put pressure on
women to be beautiful and in shape, but it does not force women to be smiling.