After all the street harassment hullaballoo died down and the digital dust settled, a few questions remained. High on the list was the issue of compliments, and in its most hostile form, it goes something like this: “Why do you feminists ruin everything! No sparkly engagement rings, no vajazzling, no letting guys pay for my shit; you guys suck the fun out of everything. And now I can’t even receive a goddamn compliment on my haircut without being objectified? WHERE IS THE LINE.”
Can a guy give a girl a compliment on the way she looks without being a creeper? Yeah, for sure. But given the history of skeezy “complimenting” (read: catcalling, negging, leering, ogling, harassing, bragging to bros, etc), it’s kind of a fine line to walk when it comes to complimenting strangers. The “safe space” seems to be a lot easier to find with friends and coworkers.
I polled the internet (yes, all of it, the ENTIRE internet) to see how men and women feel about compliments from strangers. Here’s where I landed:
Related Post: That time we compared church to dating.
Related Post: That idiot “End of Courtship” NYT article.
brilliant