Good points. And "You're fat!" might silence me too, if it weren't so silly.

And I only poked fun at the size of MMM's penis because he just bragged in this thread about how it would take a wide angle lens to photograph it.

Did you ever see that movie where the guy says to the woman he doesn't know in a diner, "I'm hung like a horse."

And she says, "Okay, let's see it."

And the guy sputters.

I always recall that scene when guys assert that they're hung like horses.

"Do you agree with me that I'm not imagining things and that this often happens? If so, why do you think it does? What sensible actions can men take to address it?"

1. I sorta disagree with Anne in NYC. Like you, Confu, I'm friendly. I smile and smile and most people smile back at me. So, whereas Anne in NYC asserts that it's not always about you, I do think that the difference in provoking a friendliness response is greatly about gender. So, no, you're not imagining things, although as Anne in NYC notes, sometimes it isn't about you.

2. It happens because women don't want to become tangled in you. They have somewhere to go and they're afraid that smiling might be seen as an invitation for something more. Whereas, when a woman returns my smile, she assumes I want nothing more.

3. I'd do what I do with critters that are wary, which is to avoid eye contact at first and incrementally approach. It takes time, but it works with wild things and might work with women too, who have learned to be wary, as opposed to being innately wary. Or I'd broadcast my happiness generally, with an unaimed smile, and some women might see it and join in your happiness. I might. Any other ideas?

Thanks, Hun!

What's strange is that the older I get, the less I care about physical comfort. When I was young, reaching a cozy, dry place mattered to me. Now, with silver hair, I'm in no hurry to make camp. I'll stay on the water, in the rain, with the bugs buzzing.

"Feminist sites don't want real dialogue."

Huh? We've tried to chat with you many times. Asehpe has devoted thousands of words to you. You rarely reply. Instead, you call me fat.

You know when you're caving and you're in a tube and the ceiling drops and you shuck your truck and take a breath and have a look-see, there in the drowning dark? Would you do that, tough guy? Or do you just bluster? Seriously, you talk tough and tougher, but what do you do other than spew?

Please don't let it annoy the snot out of you! Don't give them that power. Since most Americans are soft, in more ways than I care to count, it's likely that the accusers of fat are also fat. It's cool that you're not. Congrats on that, for corporations do try their darndest to seduce us into swallowing one more Twinkie, one more supersized fry. I see young people who are fat and I fear for their health. I recently talked to high mucky mucks in the healthcare industry and I asked them about the future of American healthcare. Off they record, they said that the system is going to collapse and that soon only rich people will have healthcare.

I asked for the solution and they said, "As a nation, we'll have to lose weight and walk more."

So, you already have healthcare of the future, Anony!

You mocked your own penis when you said that one would need a wide lens to photograph it. I just had you put that longfellow to good use: as a paddle!

Hate?

Nah.

Silly?

Yep.

But you have a good day!

Ms. Traister. Whereas the show would have made me wild blood boil, reading you soothes the savage Bigguns.

"That's just a roundabout way of saying that she sees me as a threat, as a predator on the prowl, who might at the very least confront her with an unsolicited and undesired request for a date."

Only in part. There's also Girl World. If a woman returns your smile and that leads to a chat, there are less developed women who will assume that they two of you are fucking in the supply closet at noon. Such chicks do cluck. And there are lounge lizardy types who might assume that if she's willing to smile at you, she better be ready to smile at them...and more. We all live a stew of each other, our assumptions, our misassumptions, and lies.

As far as my suggestion that you radiate joy, it works for me. There are days when everyone I pass wants to smile at me first because I'm beaming.

Confu, what do you want from these women who won't smile at you? Guys do and that seems to make you feel good. Is guy-to-guy camaraderie insufficient? It's been my observation that men and women often meet largely to mate and after that, they scoot back to their buds. Do you want gal-pals? Do you want to change the way things work? Do you prefer the companionship of women?

"Unfortunately, those who walk around with smiles permanently plastered to their faces and chipper demeanors are generally seen one of three ways, either as: 1) phonies; 2) medicated; 3) morons."

I have been accused of the first two. Something I have an agenda, since I'm sweet, and one guy asked me, "Are you on drugs."

He later killed himself. Projection, I guess.

Oh, yes, some of the misandry men accuse me of being a moron. So, you're right, there are perils, but man, I've had some fun walks where my little world turned to me and smiled.