Women of Reddit, what makes a man “creepy” in your eyes?

25 comments

1. An inability to either recognize or respect boundaries and social norms is the biggest one for me. The guys who are fine with harassing women in all sorts of situations, because 1 woman among thousands might agree to a date because of it.

2. Doesn’t respect boundaries, ignores social conventions, inserts themselves where they aren’t wanted, talks over women’s experiences/opinions about consent issues, eyes linger on women *especially* young women/girls, they flirt with clearly underage/teenagers, follows women, looks them up/down and licks their lips

   And these are just off the top of my head

3. Don’t understand the word no

4. Puts his own needs over the needs of others.

5. No means no. It’s not up for debate. The moment they start that, they’ve crossed into creepy territory and all we think about is how to escape.

6. “I’m not trying to be a creep, but-”

   Nope, stop right there. You know whatever you’re doing or about to do is creepy and you think because you acknowledged that I’ll now somehow allow it.

7. Hovers. Makes a lot of comments that are almost offensive, but not enough to call him out on it. Stares. Might not cross boundaries but sidles right up to them and presses his nose against them like a kid at a candy store window.

8. [removed]

9. I would also say obsessively hate. Obsessively watch my successes and hate, and actively bringing me down a few pegs. It’s creepy because they put too much attention on it and I feel like I have to look over my shoulder. Should roles have been reversed, I would’ve congratulated them and moved on.

10. Trying to get way too close way too fast. Not necessarily in a physical sense, it can be in the form of asking personal questions or making inappropriate comments.

    Also I would say good ol’ sexism makes a man pretty damn creepy. Like when he’s not seeing you as a person but either as some odd inferior creature that requires special techniques to communicate with or even worse, as straight up prey.

11. Tries to frighten or intimidate women to get what they want. That behavior might be aggression, it it might be doing things that are inappropriate (like peeping Tom type behavior.) The common denominator is acting in a way that shows they don’t understand boundaries or social norms that protect others from harm.

12. Unsolicited comments from guys I don’t know that imply they want to fuck me.

13. Not respecting personal space. Being pushy.

14. Many things… lowest threshold is generally just being socially inept. Looks that linger a second too long and wander off, obliviousness to personal space, smells like he whacked off in the past hr..

15. Staring, following, stalking, overly affectionate too soon/love bombing, men who hit on women 3 times their junior, and male teachers who give extra special attention to female students

16. Could be something he says, or the way he says it or how he acts with others. I listen to my gut and when it says to back away, I listen.

17. Intense staring would be a start.

    Certain body language gestures like moving up the eyebrows, expecially strangers or basically aquintances.

    Stepping boundaries. Or if they basically say creepy stuff

18. Any guy who uses the term “friend zone” seriously.

19. Those that overanalyze you. There was this guy that always gave me weird vibes. I’m a big fan of nail polish, one day I decided to give my nails a rest and go bare, he texted me “everything okay? I noticed you’re not wearing any nail polish. Are you going through something?” At that point I started to pay more attention and noticed this guy kept track of many things. I used to have him on Spotify and some days he would recite all the songs he saw I was listening the day before.

    Some might find it romantic, but I get the heebie jeebies with guys like him.

20. No one wants to say this, but I will. Ugly men. Of course I’m not talking about people with disadvantages beyond their control. My creep radar goes off when a man has poor hygiene and does not put basic effort into his appearance yet has the audacity to feel entitled to my time and energy.

21. Violating boundaries, often in a way that avoids confrontation

22. A creep, really of any gender, treats you like a toy they want to play with instead of a person. They will put zero effort in trying to build a rapport, ignore any and all signs that you aren’t interested, and just fling themselves at you while you stand there thinking ‘I don’t know how much more obvious i can make it that i’m not interested, am i literally going to have to tell this person to fuck off?’.

23. You move away, he moves in. Repeat. Repeat.

    Like, you put physical distance between you and he crosses it.

24. Lack of respect or understanding of boundaries

    Sense of entitlement – “women exist to give me pleasure”

25. Constantly sexualising someone or something or always talking about sex when it’s not needed

    when he doesn’t respect women (sees them as objects or thinks they are annoying etc)

    when he mocks women and belittles them (thinks they are inferior in a way, believes misogynistic stereotypes like women are more emotional)

    Thinks of women as property and that his wife is just there to make babies and please him

    Constantly pushing boundaries and not understanding no

    is a Literal sexual predator.