Nice work, MadSam. You got several of the fine ladies of the SDMB to describe their physical attributes for you. Is that what you were hoping for? 
The truth of the matter is that on the way to the store or at a stop sign or whatnot, I find myself admiring various areas of a female including her face, posture and all kinds of things and then if they should look up and catch me looking, I generally divert my eyes.
Reading that a member has long hair or a well sculptured body makes me happy for them but personally has no effect on me in any circumstance. Thats why I like these threads…you can a cross-section of how our people react to certain stimuli such as glances vs. leers vs. stares vs. glaring etc.
Guys staring at me always made me feel contempt mixed with a little pity. Also nervous if I was alone. Never once did some loser’s burning hypnotic gaze entice me to want to get to know him better. With friends I didn’t notice people staring, tho once I was in a bar with my boyfriend. I was wearing a peasant blouse with elastic you could pull down to show your shoulders, and I did this and he hissed, “Don’t do that, every guy in this place is gaping at you!” Never even noticed!
Men have to look, they are genetically programmed that way. Many other people attract stares, also. Fat people, people with piercings or tattoo’s, handicapped people, etc. Maybe it’s human nature to stare at each others differences.
If chickens could pee, they would be wet on the bottom.
Anyone remember the Seattle Real World where the chick yelled at a guy for learing? It was BEAUTIFUL. He made some little clicking noise at her, and she stopped dead, got in his face and said "Do you think my name is “hey, ::click::? It’s not. What the hell do you think I’m gonna do when you do that, decide, ‘hell, I want to #$%^ this guy.’ Treat women with respect.” It was the first, and only, time I have respected a Real Worlder.
To the OP, it pisses me off. I get objectified enough as it is, and I really hate it that I have to choose to either wear loose fitting clothes or get oogled. The nervous look-away is one thing, the fixation on breasts is quite another. You know that photo of And American Girl in Italy, where they’re all shouting at her? A personal nightmare.
Habit rules the unreflecting herd. - Wordsworth
I can honestly say being in the military helped me deal with this. Being outnumbered 1:10 gave ample opportunity for the whistles and etc. I must say, most military guys where complete gentlemen whilst on duty.
I don’t mind it as long as it’s more in the “appreciatory” mode than the "leering ‘hey-girly’ " type thing. The guys who do the latter get a really dirty look.
I too hate having to choose my wardrobe based on whether or not I fell like tolerating being oggled that day. Even some of my relatives(older ones) tell me I shouldn’t wear something that actually FITS, they think I should not encourage the leers! So, they want me to dress in a tent or something, as if that helps anything. I am more than the sum total of my external parts, and the guys that don’t see, or don’t care to see, don’t deserve anything but my contempt. I’m glad to see that so many of us have the same opinions on this subject. And, no, of course I don’t mind an occassional glance,we can hardly avoid noticing how people look, it’s the leers and stares, and especially gestures and wolf-whistles that burn my up.