It does not seem long ago when I was a young teen watching America's Next Top Model, and first heard Tyra Banks tell the girls to "smile with their eyes" or "smize". Now that I have spent more than half a year teaching in a COVID-19 context, I believe I may have mastered this skill.
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I am sure I was not the only one back in 2009 who was impressed by Tyra Banks, and her ability to smile without moving her lips. It was only recently when I noticed a similar "challenge" on TikTok - the love stare versus the hate stare. It is amazing how much we can change our face with the subtlest movements (my favourite being at 1:33).
Fast forward many years from the origin of "smizing", I am sure I am also not alone in feeling a little in the dark about how a person is feeling, as a level of face to face contact has been eliminated for the past few years. As Reilly puts it, "Sharing a warm smile with a stranger on the street or even during a social distanced hang out with friends is a lot more difficult now that face masks have become the norm" (Reilly, K. 2020).
Keeping that in mind though, a person's eyes (what can still be seen) can certainly communicate so much, if not more than a casual lip stretch. As an English teacher, I am well aware of the usual symbolism around eyes; that they are the window to the soul, that you can empathise with others and see their emotions through locking eyes, and that you can tell someone's true character and intent by examining their gaze. One of my favourite examples in literature would be in Steinbeck's East of Eden, where one of the characters is trying to work out what seems off about the seemingly perfect Cathy.
"He built her face in front of him and studied her wide- set eyes, delicate nostrils, mouth smaller than he liked but sweet, small firm chin, and back to her eyes. Were they cold? Was it her eyes? He was circling to the point. The eyes of Cathy had no message, no communication of any kind. There was nothing recognizable behind them. They were not human eyes." (Steinbeck, J. 1992)
Despite her physical beauty, it was her eyes which allowed Samuel to see her darker and arguably "evil" nature.
Science has certainly had its say about the topic also. In a 2017 study of 35 university students, it was found that direct gazing resulted in "what’s known as self-other merging. This means it reduces the boundaries between “self” and “other,” creating a feeling of “oneness” and connection" (Zhou, Jiang, & Zhu, 2018). English mentalist, illusionist, painter, and author Derren Brown found that in placing two complete strangers face to face for four minutes, feelings of empathy could be invoked. This was done as part of his Netflix tv special, 'Sacrifice' where a member of the public was involved in a faked medical experiment, and told it would increase his bravery and empathy, before being forced to decide whether he would take a bullet for a stranger.
Eye contact is certainly a powerful thing, and as a teacher in a COVID-19 world, it has been my main form of connecting with my students. While many of my students have yet to see the entirety of my face, they are able to see my care for them, my belief in their skills and their potential to succeed both academically, and beyond the confines of the classroom. In order to be a successful teacher, it is so important to make sure the students know you are on their side, and are there to facilitate a safe space for them to learn. From daily interactions with my students, and from the quality of their work, I can see that I have been able to build trust, and consistently provide them with the support that they need to flourish as learners.
In the past, I certainly mirrored the concern of Drew Barrymore, where she confessed that she was "...someone who loves warm exchanges with people. I smile at everyone. It's important to me...I worry all the time about the new normal of wearing masks, because it's hard to tell what everyone around us is thinking and communicating". However, Tyra Banks' "smizing" AKA "smiling with your eyes" is definitely the antidote to any anxiety around the issue. In 2020, 11 years after the debut of this concept, Banks joined Barrymore on her show to share the trade secrets around "smizing". She expressed that she "...never thought in a million years that [smizing] would mean so much more and come to me in so much more and be so important today with us wearing masks." Without further ado, here is how to "smize"in just two easy steps:
1. Think of something that delights you
Whether this is your dog's face when you get home from work, an obscure old Disney Channel reference, or the giggle of your friend's 5 year old son, there is always something joyful to refer to in your mind's eye. No matter what may be going on, there is always a reason to smile, and in this case, let that energy lift up, and radiate in your eyes. That way, others will not only see your happiness, but feel it too.
2. Use the muscles around your eyes, not just around your mouth
If we default to that semi-automatic 'mildly friendly lip stretch', your smile will not reach others. Make sure to let that energy reach all the way up to those peepers, and let it glow! According to Banks, "...now a smize doesn't just mean 'I'm fierce'. A smize today means 'thank you', or a smize means 'you go first', or a smize means 'I'm going to be here for you during this difficult time that you are going through right now." More than ever, we need to let people know we are there for them, no matter what happens.
Being at St Luke's Catholic College, I come to school every day with a smile, and I look forward to collaborating with my team teachers to help drive inquiry focused learning. Smiling is not only good for others, but for your own health too, as it "...not only offers a mood boost but helps our bodies release cortisol and endorphins that provide numerous health benefits, including: Reduced blood pressure, increased endurance, reduced pain, reduced stress, and a strengthened immune system" (Norwood, E. 2017). The ability to put on a happy face no matter what is going on is a powerful thing to do, and part of the resilience that teachers should be modelling for their students. Wearing a mask though, I remember to "smize", so I can share that warmth, and not end up simply squinting at everyone!
Articles:
Chu Zhou, Tianjiao Jiang & Lei Zhu(2018)Direct Gaze Blurs Self-Other Boundaries,The Journal of General Psychology,145:3,280-295,DOI: 10.1080/00221309.2018.1469465
Books:
Steinbeck, John.East of Eden.New York: Penguin Books, 1992.
Websites:
Derren Brown & Vaudeville Productions Ltd., (2022). 'Derren Brown'. https://derrenbrown.co.uk
Healthline Media, (2013). 'How Eye Gazing May Bring You Closer to Someone Else'. https://www.healthline.com/health/eye-gazing
Malone, C., (2020). 'Tyra Banks Uses This Technique to Smize While Wearing a Mask'. https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/tyra-banks-smize-mask.html/
Norwood, E., (2017). 'Surprising Health Benefits Of Smiling'. https://www.henryford.com/blog/2017/10/health-benefits-smiling
Reilly, K. (2020). 'Watch Tyra Banks Teach Drew Barrymore How to Smize With a Mask'. https://www.eonline.com/news/1188934/watch-tyra-banks-teach-drew-barrymore-how-to-smize-with-a-mask
Videos:
Babyshark doodoo. 2022, Love Stare to Hate Stare TikToks | ”My Head is a Jungle” TikTok, online video, viewed on 10 June 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6VWIlez_hY
Ethos Ananda. 2018, Inducing Empathy Between Strangers | Derren Brown, online video, viewed on 10 June 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEnYAUvlTS8
Mark Parker. 2020, Nat King Cole "Smile" (1954), online video, viewed on 10 June 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyHoohNyYkw
Simopolis37. 2009, Tyra - Smile with your eyes, online video, viewed on 10 June 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZhRz6DZSrM
The Drew Barrymore Show. 2020, Tyra Banks Teaches Drew the Art of Smizing, online video, viewed on 10 June 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM_QXFcn7c8
The Killers Music. 2017, The Killers - Smile Like You Mean It, online video, viewed on 10 June 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAErD8xzjCM
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