this post was submitted on 05 May 2025
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The other day, my parents asked me (22M) if there were any women that I find attractive (I guess because they're paranoid about me being gay lol) and I told them yes, there's a fair number of women that I've seen in public that I've found attractive.

They asked me, "Do you talk to any of them?" and I said "No??? It's inappropriate to approach women in public unless you have business with them."

I told them that it is only appropriate for a man to talk to a woman he doesn't know when the social situation is explicitly designed for meeting strangers—dating apps, hobby groups, meeting friends of friends, etc. In my view, cold approaching women you don't know just because you're attracted to them is harassment.

My parents told me that I'm being ridiculous and making excuses because I'm nervous. They are adamant that I need to learn to approach women or else I will never find a partner. I told them that times have changed and this is disrespectful and potentially predatory behavior along the lines of unsolicited flirting and catcalling. Approaching women is a violation of their personal space and could make them feel very uncomfortable, especially if they feel like they don't have an easy way out.

My parents are almost 60 and they are very conservative, so they don't exactly follow progressive discourse, and I feel like they're super out of touch on this as a result. Particularly, my mom tends to strike up conversations with other women in public, and she's skeptical when I tell her that I can't do the same thing because I'm a man and would be viewed as a potential predator.

But I also don't get out much, which makes me second-guess how distorted my understanding of the social world is from reality. My parents are like a broken clock, and sometimes they DO have a point about something despite 90% of their opinions being insane. Maybe there is a more nuanced reality that I'm not picking up on.

So I wanted to ask here. Are my parents out of touch? Am I out of touch? Are we both wrong? I want to know your opinion.

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[–] Taleya@aussie.zone 20 points 12 hours ago (2 children)

Got a bit tangled there bud and you're horseshoeing

If you never approach women unless you have business with them then you're treating them as things to have business with or romantic entanglements.

Try just treating us as people. You can have friends, you know.

[–] underline960@sh.itjust.works 4 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago)

I haven't seen horseshoe used as a verb in... ever, but that still made sense.

[–] blarghly@lemmy.world 2 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

As a guy, I can firmly say that I've never made a friend at the bank, grocery store, or coffee shop. If anyone started talking to me at one of these places, I would be very confused, and wonder why they are talking to me and what they are trying to get from me. And similarly, I have never struck up a conversation with anyone in these places - that would be super weird.

Of course, I see hot women in these places frequently, and I'd like to talk to them. Well, not really talk to them so much as fuck them. I'd like to say "hey, you have a really nice ass. Wanna bang one out in the bathroom right now?" Which is not unusual - this is just standard male sexuality. Hence why if you look on Grindr, a guy's profile will be a picture of his asshole, and a common opener is "Hey, you in the McDonalds too? Wanna fuck in the bathroom right now?"

Unfortunately as a guy talking to a nice lady in the grocery store, that would be sexual harassment, and then I would be banned from that Safeway or whatever. So if I want to approach the girl with a nice ass, I need to have some kind of excuse - like, I dunno, what apples she's looking at or whatever. But now it feels like I'm lying, because I don't give a shit about apples - I just care about her nice ass.

[–] flicker@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

You really, really, really need to see women as people-who-might-be-friends, and not exclusively as fuck objects.

[–] blarghly@lemmy.world 1 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

I certainly do. I have a lot of female friends. They like me a lot. And I have several ongoing female fwbs. They also like me a lot. And I like and care about my female friends and partners a lot.

None of this changes the fact that literally the only thing I know and like about random grocery store girl is her nice ass, and this is the one and only real reason I would want to approach her. I've tried your suggestion before, and I have to say, it's pretty fucked up. Because what you're actually saying is "Your sexuality is wrong and bad, and you should be ashamed of it. You are a bad person for wanting to have sex." So much for sex positivity and not kink shaming, lol. Turns out the most common kink of all - wanting to have sex with hot women - is shameful. Weird how that works.

[–] Taleya@aussie.zone 3 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago) (1 children)

The desire isn't shameful dude. The fact you need to make it her problem is.

[–] blarghly@lemmy.world 2 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Where did I say I'm making it her problem?

[–] Taleya@aussie.zone 0 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Your entire commentary.

You see a woman you find sexually desirable about in public, doing normal, human things.

You approach her solely because you want to fuck her. You literally say this. You're literally only interacting with her because you want to get your dick wet. Newsflash: People don't want to fuck randos who come up to them at the grocery store. But because you wanted to throw in she now has to get out of the interaction - which I'm guessing is gonna be more than a bit fuckin' fraught because you don't seem to be grasping the fact that "I want to fuck it" is not a viable reason for annoying people in grocery stores - and manage your resultant rejection meltdown when all she wanted was some god damn potatoes.

You've made your desire her problem.

[–] blarghly@lemmy.world 3 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago)

Please re-read my earlier comment. I was literally saying that I don't approach women in grocery stores, because that would be weird. I was pushing back against another comment saying that not approaching women in grocery stores was objectifying them.

Edit: I just went to a grocery store. Had a pleasant conversation with the pharmacist at the counter while I picked up my prescription. Didn't hit on her, because that would be weird.