Man winking to man in American culture

Guest   Sun Sep 14, 2008 10:04 pm GMT
I was walking down the road and I dropped a paper to the ground.
Someone who was passing by me picked it up for me.
But then weirdly, when he gave it back to me he winked at me at the same time. I just said thanks and moved on.
IS this a normal part of American culture?
Uriel   Sun Sep 14, 2008 11:27 pm GMT
A wink doesn't always have sexual connotations for us. This was just his way of acknowledging that he had done something nice for you, no thanks needed, let's move on, without words. I'm not a man, but I will also wink at people if I am joking, to let them know that they shouldn't take me seriously. I'll do this to men or women.
Damian in Edinburgh   Mon Sep 15, 2008 11:14 am GMT
Getting wound up over a little wink? I think this says more about you and your thought processes than it does about the winker. Take it from me that in the context of your experience it was nothing more than a friendly "That's ok, pal - no probs at all!" You can bet your boots that is wasn't any kind of "come on" or any sign that he was offering an invitation to share his duvet with him. I'm so sorry to have to put this to you this way.

Of course, it would have been a different matter altogther had he winked at you from the other end of the bar of certain pubs or clubs........but merely picking up your paper off the pavement out in the street and handing it to you with a wink? I reckon you're as safe as houses, mate!

Of course, I'm speaking from a British perspective....I don't know much, if anything, about the social mores of guys winking to each other in the streets of America, where they tend to have different views and reactions to such things as we do in Europe.

If I have no ruined your day - again, I apologise. ;-)
Guest   Tue Sep 16, 2008 8:55 am GMT
I have two kinds of winks. One is ordinary, the other is an ordinary wink to ordinary people, although to those who are 'in the know', it's no ordinary wink...
Guest   Tue Sep 16, 2008 9:59 am GMT
I would had interpreted winking as I liked him and for that reason he picked up the paper for me. Do you think I'm a bit sick?
Guest   Wed Sep 17, 2008 2:51 am GMT
ya ur a sick whore for thinking that
guest   Wed Sep 17, 2008 4:08 am GMT
what's wrong with the wink?all of us wink unintentionally. its just an involuntary impulse,that's why don't take it as if it has another meaning.
Guest   Wed Sep 17, 2008 4:55 am GMT
It depends where the incident took place. If it is a gay cruising area, it is then likely that the "nice man" was motivated by inserting his penis into you, or vice versa.
laura braun   Wed Sep 17, 2008 8:14 am GMT
it sounds pretty gay unless that man had some problems with his eye. he cannot control his eye and from time to time he winks to people by the time he is giving them dropped items.
Laura Braun   Wed Sep 17, 2008 8:20 am GMT
I can read a whole story just reagridng that winking.
There was an innocent boy who was walking on the street. In a moment he dropped his newspappers. A man pick up his newspapers and gave him a wink. The boy got scared. Because he doesn't know cultural diference, isn't that called sexual harassment? Why me?
Long Term Analyst   Wed Sep 17, 2008 8:28 am GMT
If he has a problem with his eye that makes him out to like gay oughtn't he wear an eye-patch or something of that nature as that would almost definitely keep him out of suspicions way, of course, it would still be possible for people to see his face twitching from beneath the eye-patch. In that case I guess he could wear a full face mask or have a botox injection to calm down and deaden his facial nerves. That would help a lot to lessen the suspicion. He could be winking away like a madman behind is dead nerves, or his full face mask, and yet no one would know about it because they wouldn't be able to see past the solid material blocking his eyes. Of course, this could also cause some difficulties in its own right and could hinder his ability to communicate effectively with his fellow men, although a more prohibitive consequence of such drastic action would be that he would have to walk around with a mask every day of his life and as we all know masks are extremely heavy and thus, as a simple calculation reveals, the total life long affect of having a heavy mask on his head could lead to a weakening of his neck muscles and even a total spinal collapse. The total weight and stress caused on the muscles of the neck and the whole body are enormous and could greatly reduce his life span and his ability to maintain a straight posture. If he isn't able to maintain a straight posture then he will likely be frowned upon by his peers as someone who was not trained well in manners by those being who gave birth to him and raised him and endowed him with an education. Of course, a consequence more problematic even than this is the simple fact that having a bad posture can lead to serious back pain and in extreme cases an early death. Thus it is with certain precaution that I suggest to this man humbly in all my capacity as a Long Term Analyst, that although wearing a full face mask would put an end to untrue accusations with respect to his sexual orientation, the possible physical consequences are not to be taken lightly and could be more problematic in the long term than the social problems caused by being taken for a gay. In fact, the social problems caused by being thought to be gay are not so great in Our Modern Society, and according to several simple calculations and data acquired over the last decade, one can predict that the social stigma placed on gays will with a reasonably good accuracate estimate continue to fall well into a more conventional scale. I predict then that it would be best for this man to chose the eye-patch option, as in view of the physical consequences caused by the full face mask and the ever decreasing stigma placed on gays, it would be in his interests to wear an eyepatch and avoid stigma but at the same time preserve the functionality of his vital organs.
Laura Braun   Wed Sep 17, 2008 8:34 am GMT
wow. I'm impressed, Long term analyst.
Big Guest   Wed Sep 17, 2008 3:57 pm GMT
Guest   Wed Sep 17, 2008 9:42 pm GMT
Long Term Analyst, I take it that that was a joke?
Guest 5000   Thu Sep 18, 2008 3:59 am GMT
A wink is some kind-of playful gesture, like giving a thumbs up. I think the last time it had sexual connotations Queen Victoria herself ruled over a vast British empire.