Cofffee

NonHomogenized, perhaps there's a happy medium between the two extremes:

Extremely shy:
That guy over there isn't even looking at me, what a self-absorbed prick.

Extremely overt:
OMG, that freak over there is staring at me and creeping me out... I'll ignore him and maybe he'll go away

Happy median:
Lookit' that guy over there checking me out; I think I'll give him a wink.

NonHomogenized

I suppose, but then, I don't stare. I simply look people in the eye as I walk by (no, I don't maintain eye contact the entire time. Usually, I look people in the eye to acknowledge their presence, and then look away.) Hardly the same thing, I'd think.

However, I suspect you're right about that happy median... though I suspect it also has something to do with the appearance of the person doing the checking out. ^_^

Clutch

I find that women rarely notice when I look at them.

But then, that's really the whole point of using a telephoto digital camera from behind a tree.

wordsmyth

So, I guess drooling and licking my lips is a bad thing, huh. Knew I must've been doing something wrong when that last chic started slowly backing away and fumbling for her pepper spray.

If I check out a woman I usually get either a smile, to which I wink, smile back, and then return to whatever I was doing before... or I get a look of "what the hell are you looking at", to which I respond by sticking out my tongue like an annoyed 5 year old and then looking quickly away. Believe it or not, the latter has actually gotten me a few dates.

The Other Michael

I figure that as long as you are POLITE you can look at people that interest you (note that this isn't just attractive people).

Polite means not doing anything to upset the lookee.

I am not normally in an environment filled (or often even sparsely populated) with attractive people of any sex, so when I get somewhere (like an airport, downtown SF, etc) it can be a struggle to not go overboard ogling people. But you don't want to creep someone out, so you've got to do a wide-area scan, and not focus your attention on the interesting folks.

As an aside, I'll mention that since I started working out last summer I'm much more likely to notice someone who has some muscular development/definition. This is often another guy, and while I'm very much hetero in orientation, I'll take a few glances at someone to appreciate their hard work, e.g. "Nice shoulders and arms, I wonder how long it took him/her to build those muscles?"

Nice people are nice to look at, no matter their gender.

cheers,
Michael

Godless Dave

Two words: dark sunglasses.

lisarea

I used to have a friend who would actually ball his fist up and bite on it, making weird grunting noises with this perverted sort of rutting dog look on his face.

I told him it was nasty about a million times, but he didn't stop until one day, we were walking down the street, and I noticed he'd fallen behind. I turned around and he was heatedly chewing a couple of guys out for apparently making some sort of gesture at me. Ha ha! Later he told me I was right and it really pissed him off to see someone do that to me.

Man, I used to trick him all the time! I'd say, "Hey, that woman over there is totally checking you out!" and I'd stand back, he'd get all nervous and primpy and start looking around, and eventually I'd covertly point to a mannequin in a store window. You'd think this might work once or twice. Nope. EVERY TIME. HA HA. BOYS ARE STUPID.

Putney Swope

Is it that apparent?

And we try so hard to look smart.

lisarea

Only making the stupidity thang all the more apparent.

Boys are supposed to look PURTY, not smart.

sullster

This is one of the most impressive views expressed by a woman on this subject, which I have ever read.

It is so encouraging to know that there are women who can handle the male interest in female sensuality,( damn you women are gorgeous creatures). I can fully appreciate that women are threatened by male leering and any aggression. Some males are dangerous characters and women are wise to be wary. But, we are not all out to do harm and a woman who can handle the real compliment a male gives by checking her out, is even more attractive in my book.

Thank you Jagged.