Let's face it - when it comes to romance, approaching strangers is a social minefield. Even when you have the best intentions, you can come off as super creepy. This is especially true for men seeking women. (Sorry, guys.) Staring for too long, failing to take no for an answer, mistaking friendliness for flirtation - we've all been there.
Thankfully, Reddit users have shared their experiences, so we can try to make less mistakes in the future. Here are 13 creepy things guys do that they are unaware of, according to women.
1. I'll be watching you
"Stare, like straight up gawking. You know women have peripheral vision too, yeah?"
2. Smile! Why don't you smile more?
"Tell a stranger they don’t know to 'smile'. I don’t just walk around with a big dumb smile on my face all day, that’s weird."
3. If at first you don't succeed..."If you ask a girl out and she conveniently has an excuse not to (and this happens multiple times) Stop Asking. She's being polite and you're not getting the hint."
4. This joke isn't funny"Joking about drugging my drinks [or] slipping alcohol into my non-alcoholic beverages (if I'm not drinking that night) and wondering if I'd notice [or] how I would act while drunk or drugged up."
5. I've got magic hands!"Unsolicited shoulder massages"
6. Friends without benefits"From my wife: Being friendly to a guy and they automatically believe you want to fuck them. So they ramp up the flirtiness and physical contact."
7. Unsolicited junk mail"I think a general rule with dick pics is that if we don't ask for one, don't send it. And a lot of guys just send it as an opening. It's pretty gross when it's not asked for."
8. Now you'll never escape!"Blocking you by extending their arm and putting their hand in the wall. Quick tip, dickbag, if you have to physically block my escape, it's already over."
9. Space invader"Violating personal space. If you take a step toward me, and I step back, that is not an invitation to slowly chase me around the room. That is an indication that you are close enough."
10. May I have this dance?"At a club, pushing into our dance. I was out with my friend and we were dancing together, fully engaged with just each other and chatting as we danced. A guy pushed into the gap between us and tried dancing with just me. I stopped dancing and stepped away. My friend reached out and pulled me back to her and began dancing with me again, pulling me in closer to close the circle to make it clear we weren't looking for company. He did it again."
11. Hey! Hey! Hey!Cat calling... in all shapes and forms... What are you trying to accomplish here, except to intentionally make a female feel uncomfortable."
12. Showing your true colors"As a black female, it is absolutely infuriating when guys hit on you by stating that they’ve never been with a black girl before, and start with all that chocolate caramel shit. That doesn’t make me feel special. It makes me feel like a fetish you want to cross of your list. Just be normal please!"
13. Last call"I run a bar with a lot of female bartenders. One of the creepiest things I see consistently that drives me insane are the guys who will try and stay after we've closed to "flirt" with the bartender as she's closing. They end up just kind of trying to follow the bartender around while she's just trying to ignore them and get her job done. No bartender likes this, stop doing it."
Hopefully now you have some valuable social insight. Well, I have to run. This attractive woman just walked by my office, and I want to ask her why she's not smiling.