# Has that tactic worked ever for picking up women? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 6, 2005, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-that-tactic-worked-ever-for-picking-up-women/298037 "2005-04-06T14:44:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-that-tactic-worked-ever-for-picking-up-women/298037/21 "2005-04-07T06:53:17Z")
> [@Jervoise](#): > > In a general sense, I suspect many guys who yell out sexual compliments to women are doing so to impress their mates and to assert their sexuality, rather than as an attempt to get sex. That, and for the joy of intimidating a women. This, I believe, is spot-on. Sad, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-that-tactic-worked-ever-for-picking-up-women/298037/22 "2005-04-07T07:05:18Z")
> [@monica](#): > > I hate this. I can be walking my dog, minding my own business, my thoughts wandering everywhere, when suddenly I’m jerked back into the present by the honk of a horn startling me, or a catcall. Some guys drive by, and turn back and stare as they go by. Eyes on the road, buddy! The whole catcalling thing is completely mystifying to me. I can’t understand why these fucking morons think that shouting out “nice ass” or “nice tits” or giving a wolf whistle is likely to endear them to anyone. And to make it worse, they often get belligerent, angry, and even violent when women fail to respond, or give them the finger. If you’re interested in the issue, and in advice about dealing with the more egregious dickheads, you might like to check out the [Street Harassment Project](http://www.streetharassmentproject.org/), based in New York City. ---
**Author:** ![Shana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3bc359/32.png) [@Shana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shana)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-that-tactic-worked-ever-for-picking-up-women/298037/23 "2005-04-07T07:27:11Z")
Now that I live in tame, suburban PA I don’t experience this mentality much…but when I went to school in Manhatten it was a daily, extremely unpleasant experience. I never got desensitized to it - and I did not find it in the least bit flattering. I felt that the men doing it were misogynistic, barbaric, and sad. No, it would most definitely NOT work with me. If a man smiles at you appreciatively in the street, great. A man screaming out that you have a great set of breasts, and then going on to describe what he would like to do with them and to various other private body parts…Uh, no. Not nice. ---
**Author:** ![Nocturne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9fc348/32.png) [@Nocturne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nocturne)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-that-tactic-worked-ever-for-picking-up-women/298037/24 "2005-04-07T10:09:35Z")
I don’t know about that, **Thank Ye Sai**. When I was in high school, I wasn’t hit on or complimented on my looks very often. When I got to college, however, I got enough catcalls and whistles and nasty comments to last me a lifetime. I didn’t like it then (four years ago), and I don’t like it now. It’s very frightening for me personally. I’m not a physical weakling, but when two or three guys trailed behind me on campus yelling at me about how hot I was and how much they wanted to f\*\*\* me, it was extremely intimidating. Stuff like that happened often enough that I stopped walking by myself to classes–I would often ask my ex-boyfriend or some other male friends to escort me to classes or to bars or whatever, which curtailed a good deal of the negative attention. ---
**Author:** ![belladonna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@belladonna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/belladonna)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-that-tactic-worked-ever-for-picking-up-women/298037/25 "2005-04-07T10:31:16Z")
I’m obviously in the minority here, because I sometimes like when guys do this. Not the nasty insulting drivebys or stalker stuff, but a whistle or a “hey baby” seems totally harmless. Carpenters especially, for some reason, maybe I just like those belts they wear… Now, I’m not going to walk up and fellate them just for complimenting my ass, of course, but it’s worth a smile and a flirty nod . We both get a little ego boost and go about our day. Sorry gals, I guess I’m the one who’s been encouraging them. ---
**Author:** ![Waverly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@Waverly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waverly)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-that-tactic-worked-ever-for-picking-up-women/298037/26 "2005-04-07T11:25:10Z")
> [@Thank Ye Sai](#): > > I also think that their are class, race and socioeconomic variables which affect the womans reaction to compliments up to and including “cat calls”. Also, I think that on average women who are frequently complimented will tend to respond less favorably than those who seldom receive such attention. Race? Are you certain that what you refer to as ‘class’ and ‘race’ aren’t really just more socioeconomics? ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-that-tactic-worked-ever-for-picking-up-women/298037/27 "2005-04-07T13:51:36Z")
Well, what difference would it make, if any, if some guy drove by and yelled, “Hey! you’re really pretty!” in a sincere-sounding way? Obviously, crude and deliberately insulting remarks are not welcome. But what about words that appear to be actual compliments? (I don’t consider, “Nice ass!” or the like to be complimentary since it’s sexually oriented and likely to be used misogynistcally). I’m wondering how much of the offense is contextual versus the actual content. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-that-tactic-worked-ever-for-picking-up-women/298037/28 "2005-04-07T14:36:16Z")
I am not a women, but if a girl yelled a honest complement at me, I would be flattered. Unlike idiots yell insults at me from a moving car, I would assume that she is genuinly attracted to me, but can not stop to talk, or she is trying to flirt, but does not want to risk actually having to engage in conversation. ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-that-tactic-worked-ever-for-picking-up-women/298037/29 "2005-04-08T00:28:10Z")
> [@belladonna](#): > > I’m obviously in the minority here, because I sometimes like when guys do this. Not the nasty insulting drivebys or stalker stuff, but a whistle or a “hey baby” seems totally harmless. Carpenters especially, for some reason, maybe I just like those belts they wear… Now, I’m not going to walk up and fellate them just for complimenting my ass, of course, but it’s worth a smile and a flirty nod . We both get a little ego boost and go about our day. > Sorry gals, I guess I’m the one who’s been encouraging them. With carpenters, it’s not there belts, it’s their wood. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-that-tactic-worked-ever-for-picking-up-women/298037/30 "2005-04-08T00:31:15Z")
> [@ltfire](#): > > With carpenters, it’s not there belts, it’s their wood. > > 😃 There thier their…I hate that word :smack: ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-that-tactic-worked-ever-for-picking-up-women/298037/31 "2005-04-08T00:34:29Z")
> [@AbbySthrnAccent](#): > > I don’t think it’s meant to be complimentary or a pick-up line. I think it’s a power play meant to be intimidating. > > YMMV I agree. The intent is often hostile. Some of these guys have a Billy Idol sneer on their faces. They don’t look friendly. They look angry. These are, I suspect, the same kinds of guys who pinch women’s bottoms really hard while riding on crowded elevators. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-that-tactic-worked-ever-for-picking-up-women/298037/32 "2005-04-08T00:36:55Z")
Your— I mean you’re not the only one. I hft, Imean, have to reread each time I am about to post, to make sure I didn’t post the wrong “t” word. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-that-tactic-worked-ever-for-picking-up-women/298037/33 "2005-04-08T03:10:03Z")
> [@Stonebow](#): > > I actually know of one case where this worked. > > The mother of one my my employees- best described as a hippy- used to pass a construction site every day on her way to work (she is a music teacher). One guy would do the catcalls, whistles, etc. every day. One day, she brought him coffee…they were married a month later, and he became my employee’s stepdad. > > She used to brag about it…but they are soon to be divorced after 13 years of marriage and one child together. > > Once again…I will never understand women. I love hippies. I think I read about this tactic from a feminist, that you are supposed to go to the person and talk to them. It is supposed to make the person catcalling you view you as a human being, and its hard to make lewd comments about someone you respect and interact with as a person. And here I am thinking that talking to women is considered offensive to them and some women like sexual comments from strangers. Damn i’m oversensitive. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-that-tactic-worked-ever-for-picking-up-women/298037.md?page=1)