American guys hear women complain all of the time about strangers flirting with them. As an American guy it is easy to get the impression that you are doing something nasty by talking to a strange woman.

Someone in this thread ( and I have heard it over the years from others ) have mentioned that foreign men are different. I've had foreign women tell me they have been disappointed that American men will not flirt or make a first move. To be fair, I've also many American women complain about going to foreign countries and feeling harassed.

On the other end of it I have also heard American women complain many times about "feeling invisible" after they lose their looks. Again, to be fair, friends of mine who were head turners when they were young have told me they welcome it. They can go about their business in peace.

The whiny types on reddit will zero in on your comments with an observation of how they can't win. Women will vilify them for flirting with them, then complain when they don't get the attention.

It is almost a reasonable observation if you don't take a longer look.

I do think their observation has a grain of truth in it that flirting is okay if the woman finds you interesting and it is an imposition if she doesn't.

For the younger guys out there I think the idea that will make it all work is to take all of these things into consideration, accept the fact that a flirt is not always welcome as coming with the territory, learn to detect ASAP when the flirting isn't welcome, and then respect the desires of the woman by gracefully backing off as soon as you know she isn't interested.