If someone teases you should you laugh it off or be serious?

[AnonyWoman4309]

Somewhere I read that a woman should keep it serious whenever someone lightly insults them (whether playfully or not playfully) and wear a straight face instead of laughing along with it / playing it off.

I definitely think this will gain the person more respect but I'm not sure whether one will come off as sexy-confident or too serious. On a scale of self-deprecating (1) to self-assured (10), how confident do you like your mate to be? Also how tolerant do you like them to be?

Real-life example: I had poofy hair at some point in my life and one of my male friends joked about turning me upside-down and using me as a mop. I laughed and playfully hit him. How should I have reacted?

Laugh it off

Keep a straight-face / be serious

Other (explain in comments)

[NathanDavis]

lots of questions and contexts in here...

first of all, teasing is more often than not something playful, it's still joking and you usually do it with someone you know, and you trust, as a response, laughing it off is a good... it shows that you have a sense of humor, which is in turn, or can be a sign of confidence, maturity and also intelligence.

then comes the difference, when the teasing is somewhat insulting, rude, or out of line, out of place... the reactions of course could be different, to step or to cross on boundaries is not alright most of the times. So you could put up with it, or you could put a stop to it. That's a personal choice.

Self-deprecating humor can be very tricky, I personally don't like in a partner if that is the base of their humor... someone that can laugh at themselves or their shortcomings, that's fine, I don't mind that, because that's usually a situational thing, as it happens, you laugh at things... but if it's a constant thing for you to laugh at yourself and expect me to do the same... I'm not into that too much.

As for your real life example... I think your reaction was great, he joked about something with a bit of a sting, but it's still "funny" so you laughed it off, and you playfully hit him. I like that, and I get that lot... the playful hitting back is a good thing, I believe this kind of teasing can build some confidence and trust, when you do it right.

So, at the end of the day... balance.