How To Know If A Woman Wants You To Stop Hitting On Her

A very non-exhaustive primer to very obvious verbal and non-verbal clues

- Sophia Benoit

MEET-CUTES DON’T WORK. The romcom lover in me wishes desperately that they did, but alas. Just as we don’t live in a world where JLo is believable as a dog walker, we also don’t live in a world where approaching a stranger in the produce section is romantic. So how are you even supposed to meet people? My answer is... slowly. That’s the answer that no one seems to want to hear. People in movies hit on strangers in public places because they only have 90 minutes to live out a whole dramatic arc. In real life, hitting on strangers doesn’t usually get you anywhere.

That doesn’t mean that you can never talk to a stranger again without an introduction – this isn’t Regency-era England. You just have to be aware of the effect you’re having. The golden rule of all attempted romantic encounters is: take ‘no’ for an answer. The first time. And not just explicit no’s. There are some not-so-subtle things that also mean ‘no,’ and you should learn to listen to those, too.