I stopped fake smiling at strangers for a week and it was weirdly intense

I am a chronic polite smiler. Cashier hands me the receipt, I smile. Man on the street makes awkward eye contact, I smile. Coworkers I barely know in the hallway, I smile so hard my cheeks actually hurt sometimes. It hit me one day that half of these smiles are not for me at all. They are like this automatic little apology for existing in public as a woman. So last week I decided to run a tiny experiment and only smile when I genuinely felt it. No more reflex polite face.

Instantly I noticed how many interactions basically depended on me performing this little friendly girl routine. One guy at the coffee shop who loves to call me sweetheart suddenly got very short when I just gave a neutral face and a simple "thanks". A man at the bus stop tried to chat and I answered, but without the usual softening smile, and he literally said I was "kinda cold today". On the other hand a woman in my building actually opened up more when I just looked neutral but present and said hi without plastering a grin on. We ended up walking together to the metro talking about how tired we were.

By day five I realized how exhausting it had been to constantly manage other peoples comfort with my facial expressions. I still smiled at the barista I like, at a little kid in the elevator, at my friends of course. But it felt like those smiles belonged to me again, not to some invisible rule. I dont think I can unsee it now. Curious if anyone else has tried something like this or noticed how much you modulate your face in public just to seem safe and non threatening.