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As a man I'd be wary about talking to female strangers. For the simple reason, that I'm aware a lot of women suffer from street harassment and I'd be wary of co

As a man I'd be wary about talking to female strangers. For the simple reason, that I'm aware a lot of women suffer from street harassment and I'd be wary of contributing to the problem. For this reason also I also try hard not to talk to female colleagues at work without good reason - unless not interacting with them would be weird. i.e. I try to treat them the same as men at work. When I was younger, I did have a little bit of a habit of being a bit friendly with the ladies at work/social events - and I've consciousnessly tried to move on from that (especially as I have a partner too). I want to be seen as a good solid guy. But yeah, talking with strangers is great, the few times it actually happens.

lastofthemojito 5y ago
>As a man I'd be wary about talking to female strangers I do have to remind myself that the world is much differently experienced by women. Like the author of the article, I'm the father of a toddler and we've spent an immense amount of time over the past year walking (or triking or wagoning) around the neighborhood. I've certainly spent more time talking to my neighbors over the past year than over the previous 8 or so years that I've lived in the same house. One neighbor that has become a friend (or at least a friendly acquaintance) is a young woman who is often outside with her 2 dogs. On walks, she always seems excited to see us, stops what she's doing to come talk to us, etc. On a couple of occasions, I've seen her walking alone while I've been driving in the neighborhood and I've waved from the car. She doesn't wave back, or even make eye contact, and continues to walk with a very "don't bother me" posture. I don't think she knows what car I drive, and she probably doesn't recognize me in the car. She also probably doesn't want to appear interested by making eye contact or looking at the car too much. She's probably had enough negative experiences with men on the street that she's making her best effort to avoid hostile/unwanted contact. It's a sad reality, but I get it.
- SunlightEdge 5y ago
  Good story. Yeah. I completely get why some women act cold to strangers. Along with them having so many bad experiences, men can badly misread women that are friendly. So no wonder. I really disagree with the mentality of hitting on women during day to day activities / service transactions (e.g. don't hit on your dentist/grocery checkout/coffee shop worker. I personally think it should be more frowned upon.

lastofthemojito 5y ago

>As a man I'd be wary about talking to female strangers I do have to remind myself that the world is much differently experienced by women. Like the author of the article, I'm the father of a toddler and we've spent an immense amount of time over the past year walking (or triking or wagoning) around the neighborhood. I've certainly spent more time talking to my neighbors over the past year than over the previous 8 or so years that I've lived in the same house. One neighbor that has become a friend (or at least a friendly acquaintance) is a young woman who is often outside with her 2 dogs. On walks, she always seems excited to see us, stops what she's doing to come talk to us, etc. On a couple of occasions, I've seen her walking alone while I've been driving in the neighborhood and I've waved from the car. She doesn't wave back, or even make eye contact, and continues to walk with a very "don't bother me" posture. I don't think she knows what car I drive, and she probably doesn't recognize me in the car. She also probably doesn't want to appear interested by making eye contact or looking at the car too much. She's probably had enough negative experiences with men on the street that she's making her best effort to avoid hostile/unwanted contact. It's a sad reality, but I get it.

SunlightEdge 5y ago
Good story. Yeah. I completely get why some women act cold to strangers. Along with them having so many bad experiences, men can badly misread women that are friendly. So no wonder. I really disagree with the mentality of hitting on women during day to day activities / service transactions (e.g. don't hit on your dentist/grocery checkout/coffee shop worker. I personally think it should be more frowned upon.