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Re:The AirPods Effect by nradov on Friday June 19, 2026 @11:46AM (#48599928)
It's not just a social or class issue. A lot of women wear headphones to discourage creepy men from hitting on them or sexually harassing them. The HN crowd skews toward young men and I think many of you don't understand that some women get this constantly on public transit.
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Re:The AirPods Effect by mock-possum on Friday June 19, 2026 @12:25PM (#48600286)
Unwelcome attention is unwelcome attention. The only charitable exceptions might be children and adults with developmental disabilities, who allowably don’t know any better.
Re:The AirPods Effect by WalterBright on Friday June 19, 2026 @03:35PM (#48602347)
> Unwelcome attention is unwelcome attention

Quite right. Allow me to rephrase:

What about the non-creepy men?

Re:The AirPods Effect by mftrhu on Friday June 19, 2026 @05:27PM (#48603437)
You mean, what about the tall, handsome, well-dressed creepy men?

The dichotomy is not conventionally attractive/creepy, it's understands boundaries/creepy.

Re:The AirPods Effect by WalterBright on Friday June 19, 2026 @10:04PM (#48605632)
If all men are creepy, then why bother with the adjective?
Re:The AirPods Effect by squeaky-clean on Friday June 19, 2026 @10:08PM (#48605655)
You're still hung up on this idea that violating boundaries and being a man are synonymous, and that what makes it creepy is how attractive you are.

Whether someone is attractive or not, they're perfectly capable of not bothering someone who doesn't want to be bothered.

You're basically saying "if an unattractive man who doesn't respect boundaries is creepy, but also an attractive man that doesn't respect boundaries is creepy, then that means all men are creepy."

Re:The AirPods Effect by WalterBright on Friday June 19, 2026 @10:49PM (#48605883)
Do you really think that the response to "hi, my name is Bob!" being attraction or repulsion is not related to how attractive the man is?

Also, men are expected to initiate the opening. Very few men are attractive enough to not need to do that.

I teased a friend of mine long ago that his pickup line was "ok". The women approached him one after the other. Yes, he was tall and handsome. What works for 1% of men doesn't work at all for the rest of us.

Re:The AirPods Effect by squeaky-clean on Friday June 19, 2026 @10:06PM (#48605642)
It's very telling that you think creepy and ugly are you synonyms and non-creepy and attractive are synonyms.

Those guys are creepy too.

If they're a non-creepy guy, it's because they don't behave like a creep. Not because they're handsome.

Re:The AirPods Effect by optimalsolver on Friday June 19, 2026 @01:49PM (#48601122)
>adults with developmental disabilities, who allowably don’t know any better.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fb9dV_DP5NI

Re:The AirPods Effect by Mezzie on Friday June 19, 2026 @12:14PM (#48600195)
Headphones also give an 'excuse'. Some men become really pissy and unstable if they think you're ignoring them, but if you have visible headphones, then you have the excuse of not hearing them.
Re:The AirPods Effect by bastawhiz on Friday June 19, 2026 @12:57PM (#48600584)
I don't know why you're getting downvoted, this is a real issue. I'm not a woman, but I'm a gay man and the same thing happens walking through Boystown or at the gym. Headphones have a near-100% success rate at deflecting unwanted advances.
Re:The AirPods Effect by calf on Friday June 19, 2026 @06:24PM (#48603983)
Having to buy fancy headphones to solve a social problem is what makes it a class issue. That's the subtle error in the typical response.
Re:The AirPods Effect by slater on Friday June 19, 2026 @11:06PM (#48605986)
Luckily, nobody is saying you have to buy fancy headphones.
Re:The AirPods Effect by calf on Saturday June 20, 2026 @02:23AM (#48606841)
Unfortunately, somebody doesn't understand the concept of structural incentives.

Also, do not reply to me any further, your sarcasm is not welcome. It is incredibly rude.

Re:The AirPods Effect by slater on Saturday June 20, 2026 @11:03AM (#48609721)
Take your Social Sciences 101 attitude somewhere else. And while you're at it, don't tell me what to do, thanks.
Re:The AirPods Effect by nradov on Saturday June 20, 2026 @11:02AM (#48609713)
You missed the point. Cheap headphones work just as well for this purpose. It's not a class issue.