Current Events > As a man, have you ever felt insecure about intimidating people?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I'm talking about being intimidating to older people, young children, some women I guess. The other week I was stood on a corner waiting to be picked up by a friend and some old man was in a wheelchair coming down the street I was on, and when he saw me standing there, he stopped a ways up the road and eyeballed me whilst smoking a cigarette. After a while (probably realizing I wasn't going to move before him) he just slammed on the pedal and went zipping by me. Another recent time a teenage girl (I'm 23) saw me walking behind her and kept looking back, and quickened her pace into a jog. And then just today some little girl came up to me when I was walking to the shop and said her friend said that I was freaky. Honestly it hurts my feelings. I just want to get by, I just want to do what I have to do, without bothering anyone, and just be on my way. Have any of you guys felt like this before?
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Bump for emotional support :-(
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not insecure but it happens a decent amount. especially when I had a huge beard. im 6'6" and work out so ive had quite a few women cross the street or straight up run if I was walking the same direction as them.
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I'm 6'2'' and pretty bulky so I get this sometimes.

Other times it's the opposite effect. People feel a need to intimidate me. Ever get that?
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CapnMuffin posted...

I'm 6'2'' and pretty bulky so I get this sometimes.

Other times it's the opposite effect. People feel a need to intimidate me. Ever get that?

when I was younger all the short guys in school either loved me or hated me. no middle ground. once they realized I had no problem punching a smaller man they stopped coming at me though but still acted hard.
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Probably and needlessly so. Not a common practice of mine.
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Yeah I try to be as least as threatening as possible anymore because I hate that feeling. Sometimes I might just say hi or smile to diffuse the situation a little bit
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Not really. Not unless I'm pissed off or wearing something like a tight tank top
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I hate running up behind women sometimes because I see them physically cringe away like they're wondering if I'm about to attack them. That's about it though, otherwise I'm a very unintimidating person.
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I haven't really had this problem. Probably because I have a big goofy smile on at like any given time lol
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One time I was walking home and it was dark and there was a woman walking a couple hundred feet in front of me and she looked back and saw me. She called someone on her phone and I could hear her saying she felt uncomfortable and that she wanted to stay on the phone. Felt pretty shitty.
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You mean today, or..?
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Yall must be pretty scary looking or something
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I'm dark skinned and I walk very fast so yeah lol
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Constantly. I'm big and dark skinned in a mostly white area, working around women older than me. I'm always thinking about this because I want people to feel comfortable around me.
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It happens less now I'm older, pudgier, and tend to keep a short comb over and wear blazers or sports coats.

When I was younger I'd wear lots of leather jackets, boots, jeans, and flannel or Henley shirts, kept my hair long and wild with a beard to match. Coupled with being 6'4" 240 a lot of people gave me a wide birth or flat out moved to the other side.

I was never really self conscious but I didn't like making others uncomfortable so I'd often make or fake a phone call, walk loudly behind them so they weren't startled, comment on something random or let someone know I was about to pass.

I once said "I'm heading here, I swear I'm not following you" to a girl that I could tell was freaked out and who I had followed for several blocks including turns. I cringed as soon as the words left my mouth but she said she had left the same bar I was at to meet her friends at the bar I was heading to and that she didn't know the area and asked if I would walk with her so I was kinda helpful.
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