r/manprovement • u/bigelow6698 • 5h ago
How to avoid being creepy.
Imagine someone makes you feel uncomfortable or scares you. Imagine you are the person doing the scaring, but you did not want to scare anybody.
Women and children are overwhelmingly the ones vulnerable to being made to feel unsafe. When men are made to feel unsafe, the person causing the unsafe feeling is typically another man. That said, women can be creepy and make people feel unsafe too.
Being made to feel unsafe and accidentally making someone else feel unsafe are both really bad situations to be in.
If people (particularly but not exclusively men) can educate themselves on what kinds of behaviors make you look suspicious, these men can make their fellow human beings feel more comfortable.
I have compiled this list of tips that people should abide by avoid creeping people out.
- If you need to check your phone in public, aim your phone away from people and/or use your hand to cover the lens.
Otherwise, strangers might think you are filming them.
- Be very careful not to block anyone’s pathway to the exit.
While we are at it, if two or more people have to sit in a booth, the smallest person should sit at the end, so that their pathway is not blocked.
- When hugging someone, be very careful not to squeeze them too hard.
If you squeeze someone too hard, you could throw their back out or even inflict injury.
- When walking on the sidewalk, keep a safe distance from strange people who are also walking the same path.
They do not know you. They do not know if you have bad intentions. If you walk too close, you might make them feel uncomfortable. You should aim to maintain a distance of at least 20 feet. You may have to take a minute and stand still, so as to give the person a chance to get ahead of you.
While we are at it, if someone is close to crossing paths with you, you may want to consider crossing to the other side of the street and then crossing back over once they have passed.
- Do not look at someone for too long without talking to them.
This will make them wonder why you are starring.
You might have that awkward moment where you want to talk to someone but you are nervous. This keeps you staring at them for too long without talking. If that is the case, wear sunglasses. This will make it impossible for the other person to discern what your eyes are focusing on. Once you work up the courage to start talking, you can remove the sunglasses, because the other person will want you to make eye contact.
- Only flirt or ask someone out in situations where such a thing is encouraged.
Places you could do this include but are not limited to bars, clubs and singles events. This day in age, dating apps exist, you can use a dating service and learn something about them before you actually meet them in person.
Do not flirt with a fellow customer at MacDonald’s. High school and college students flirting with their fellow students is okay, under one condition. That one condition under which it is okay for a high school or college student to flirt with his or her fellow students while on campus happens to be the next tip.
- When flirting or asking someone out, make sure that you and the other person are both able to leave.
If one of you is not able to leave (or worse if both of you are not allowed to leave) that creates an awkward situation. The rejecter feels concerned that the rejected person might not take well to the rejection. The rejected person feels awkward being forced to remain in the presence of someone who just rejected them. Both are worse off.
Imagine that a ninth grade girl is interested in a boy and she asks him out while on the school bus. Now imagine that he rejects her, because he simply does not reciprocate her interests. They are not able to leave, they have to ride the bus together after that.
The boy will feel uncomfortable. Some people just do not take rejection well, that could be the case with this hypothetical girl. He might be afraid that she will lash and yell at him. Perhaps she will demand an explanation behind the rejection. She might even hit him. Even if she is not the type of girl to act like that (most people would not act like that), how is he supposed to know? It is bad for the girl too, she likely feels awkward, having to ride the bus with someone who just rejected her. Both of them are worse off.
- If you ask someone out and they reject you, do NOT demand an explanation.
You probably do not want to know what the reason is. The person who rejected you might not know what the reason is. The reason might be that they think you are ugly. You would not want to hear that. A woman who rejects the advances of a man might be doing so because he is short. He does not want/need to know that. A man who is not attracted to a woman might feel that way, because she is fat. She does not want/need to know that.
- Compliments that are inherently sexual in nature should be a private matter between lovers.
Comments on a person’s breasts, back side or abdomen are inherently sexual and therefore you probably should not employ these with anyone besides your significant other, and even with your boyfriend, girlfriend or spouse you should not do it in public. Do not tell anyone (besides your SO) that they are sexy, that they have a great butt, that their boobs look lovely or that they have a sexy belly.
If clothing is very revealing, you probably should not comment on it. I know what you are thinking. You are probably thinking that, if someone is wearing revealing clothing, they probably want attention. Perhaps the person in question is looking to flirt with someone and that someone is not you. The reality is that complimenting a woman on a shirt that happens to expose her cleavage usually sounds flirtatious. Consequently, it can either be perceived as complimentary or perceived as creepy, depending on whether or not the woman in question is interested in you. I am NOT saying that is fair, I am just saying that it happens.
- Telling someone that the T-shirt they are wearing looks cool (assuming that the T-shirt is not too revealing) or that you love their hat is okay.
Here are a few examples of grey area compliments. Compliments of this nature may or may not be appropriate depending on context. You probably should not say these to your coworkers. If you work in customer service, you should not say these to customers. However, I see nothing wrong with saying this to a friend, maybe even a casual acquaintance. Saying these to a stranger at a grocery store can go either way.
Calling someone pretty, telling someone that their seven year old is cute, telling someone that their skirt/dress looks pretty.
- Do NOT be incongruent.
If what you are saying and what you are doing do not match, that is a red flag that you have something to hide.
- If you do not know someone very well, you probably should not engage in affection more than a high five or hand shake.
As you get to know someone better, touching their shoulder, hugging them, kissing them on the forehead might be appropriate. Consent is still important though.
If you are trying to get someone’s attention and your words are not doing the trick, gently tapping their shoulder is probably okay, even for someone you barely know.
Tapping someone’s shoulder to get their attention is one of the few instances where it is actually appropriate to touch someone without them knowing you are going to. Most of the time, it is extremely important to make sure the other person knows that the touch will happen before it does.
- When in public, do not stand or sit too close to someone you do not feel like talking to.
When working out on an elliptical at the gym, make sure to choose a machine in between two machines that are not being used. That way, you will not have to work out next to someone. If you have to choose a machine with someone next to it, make sure to aim your eyes away from the other people on the other machines. The same applies to using urinals in a men’s rest room.
- Do not flaunt your ability to over power someone.
Even if it is true, bragging about it makes it sound like that is what you want to do.
- If you see a stranger who appears to be in distress, offer to call an ambulance.
Sometimes you should call 911 without even telling anyone that that is what you are doing and sometimes it is better to ask if that is necessary. It really depends on the circumstances.
Imagine a woman is crying in public. Some men would offer to help her. A lot of women get creeped out by that. Many of these women do not want to talk about it with someone they do not know. If a woman is willing to discuss it with someone she does not know, she would probably like a fellow lady to talk to. Imagine that the woman in question wants a man she does not know to come up and dry her tears. If a man walks up to her and asks her if she needs an ambulance to be called, she will ask him to listen while she vents. That is, if that is what she wants. If she needs medical attention, she will say yes to the offer to call 911. If she needs absolutely nothing from this strange man, then she will not ask for anything. When the man offers to call an ambulance, she will say no thank you and move on.
Understand that acting like a decent human being does NOT mean you deserve everything that you want.
The only thing you are entitled to for merely acting like a decent human being is the reasonable expectation that others will be that nice in return.
If you disagree with anything that I said, why do you disagree. If you agree with this list, are there any points that I missed, let me know. My beliefs are malleable. If you can convince me that I was wrong about something, my mind might change.