…ideally one that was both genuine and that you had the confidence and self awareness to interpret as kind. And for bonus points, what’s one you’ve given?
I’m thinking back to the guy in group therapy years ago who told me he always thought of people who swore as not knowing any better words, but that I obviously knew better words and just also swore and even used them artistically and that’s just really stuck with me. Sometimes I wonder how much of my self esteem has suffered not just because I’ve been told not to brag, but also because I’m extremely weird so the compliments I do receive often reflect that.
My bonus one (and I’m not sure how well he was able to take it) was that one of my fellow psych nurses was frequently and obviously terrified any time shit hit the fan, but that somehow still he’d never once failed to have my back. He’d be stuttering the whole way through an incident but I’d walk out of the med room with both halves of a B52 and he’d take one of the syringes without a second thought. He was literally the epitome of “courage isn’t not being scared, it’s being willing to face it.” I should find a nice presentation of that quote somewhere to send him because I’m not sure I phrased it well at the time.
I was in my early 20s and was visiting a friend’s house. His wife had a friend visiting that I’d never met. We were introduced and the first words she said to me were “Do you know your features are wasted on a guy?” and then went on to provide specific details.
We were married a year later. And that was 30 years ago.
Especially eyelashes. It’s bizarre to me that eyelashes are considered feminine when increased eyelash thickness / length is practically a male secondary sex characteristic (turns out testosterone doesn’t magically skip your eyelashes). I’ve always wanted write a historical fiction femdom porn where the men dress like birds of paradise just for the principle of the thing; in nature males are more often the “fairer” sex, lol.
Guy here: I have had multiple female friends and girlfriends tell me I have beautiful eyelashes that they are jealous of.
I still find it weird… like I understand it is a compliment and that they genuinely wish that they had such natural lashes…
Probably I just have too many core memories about being bullied for it by guys in high school and middle school.
A neighbor saw me walking barefoot to my mailbox and complimented me on my healthy feet.
Hackles went up thinking he was some foot fetishist who was going to get weird on me. Nope, just a medical person of some sort that works with feet a lot and I genuinely have healthy arches and mobile toes. At least I choose to believe that explanation he gave. Otherwise, I have to assume my neighbor is jerking it every time I walk outside.
Obligatory: Please post feet pics. I’m a bit of a foot-doctor myself.
Hawt. I mean, you have very healthy toes or something. Bonus points for not needing woolen socks.
Stop. I can only get so erect.
I have to check people’s feet on admission, 50-50 to make sure there’s no contraband in their socks, but also genuinely to make sure there’s no gangrene or anything considering how many homeless diabetics come through. I’ve seen some feet alright. Nurses also frequently make “olive garden parmesan” jokes about the amount of skin flakes that come off (particularly older) people’s feet when you go to take their socks off. It’s so bad sometimes that you have to be careful not to breathe in or leave your mouth open when you do it because of how they disperse up into the air, except it can still get in your eyes, and you’re rarely expecting it.
Well, I don’t know that my feet are that great but they aren’t shedding any sort of cheese.
Outside… Watching my neighbor get the mail… Straight up archin it… And by it… I mean my feets
I was dancing at a club a couple years ago and someone came up to me and yelled without pause “Are you a boy or a girl you’re gorgeous”
that sounds like a fantastic compliment! your beauty is universal 😮😍
The best I’ve ever received! 🥰
From a French colleague:
“You are the kind of Italian we like in France.”
“Wonderful, but I’m American.”
“I doubt that”
I’ve had something similar quite a few times.
Meet someone, talk for a bit, “where are you from?” u.s. “really? You don’t seem American”
They meant it as a compliment
A decade ago, I was walking a few blocks to get a burger, passed by a bar with an outdoor section.
A fairly sloshed guy stared me up and down, looked at his female friend, back at me and asked “Hey, are you trisexual?”
Being extremely awkward, significantly autistic, and apparently sufficiently twink, I responded “…sure?”
Guy got up and kissed me on the cheek.
I told him to have a nice night and went to get my burger.
…
So… yeah. That was the night I discovered what a ‘twink’ is, that I am apparently a twink, and explains all the times I’ve been catcalled by other dudes.
A shame that I am (basically) straight and only seem to date women who cheat on me or have immense mental health problems.
“You look like a spy” Which is sadly why my career as a spy never got off the ground.
I was told I looked like a cop several times back when I associated with less desirable parts of society. I think the reason they felt that way is because I showered daily, combed my hair, and had an acceptable level of personal hygiene.
The Miss “my state” came to sing the national anthem for a big sports event at my job. I took care of the sound for her and we chatted a little bit. She was constantly barraged by guys coming up and wanting a picture with her, so we didn’t get to have too much of a conversation. She sang the anthem, and was moving on to her next engagement and I said glad to meet you and was about to go back to the rest of my job. She stopped me and said " but we didn’t get a picture together!" I told her it was ok, I understand that it’s part of her job. She insisted and handed HER phone to someone walking by and insisted they take a picture of us. After they returned her phone she looked me in the eye and asked for my phone number so she could send it to me. I have a wonderful girlfriend and I would never cheat on her, but miss “my state” asked ME for my number, and I have been walking on air ever since.
Not weird, absolutely awesome. Still upvoted because that’s absolutely awesome.
Super weird! I am NOT the kind of person to get hit on, average on a good day. But thank you!
It is pretty weird to assume that everyone needs a picture of her. I look fuckable, take my picture, NOW.
She didn’t think he wanted a picture with her. She wanted a picture to remember him. And possibly as a way to get his phone number. She was crushing a little bit on the cool sound guy.
Sounds to me like she wanted a picture with him. But even if it was that way, the compliment isn’t weird, she’s just weird.
An ex from a meaningful, but fraught relationship tried to seduce me a few months after we had broken up. In the interim, I had started dating someone new, and I rejected the advances.
My ex was angry and lashing out. She said a few random insults about my new partner (implying she had manipulated me with sex), before finally saying “well, I hope she enjoys your magical penis!” (It’s not magical. The tiny wizard hat is purely for decoration.)
Would you say it’s a monument?
A friend of mine said I had a very good hugging-body. I always pictured huggable dudes as big, but I was really lean back then. She said it was because my lanky body somehow automatically fit the shape of her hugs.
“Friend,” huh? I’ve jumped the bones of someone I barely knew for that kind of thing.
She was my GFs bestie. Her BF was my friend. So yes, it was purely platonic.
You guys are getting compliments?
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One time I was at Chipotle and realized I was staring at the guy putting pico on my soft tacos and I didn’t want him to think he’d done something wrong so I just blurted out that his facial hair suited his face very well and then I felt awkward so I just bolted to the end of the line, got the order to go, and ate in my car, so you give me a little hope that maybe he didn’t think I was completely weird.
When I was in undergrad, a new friend in my program asked if he could inspect my elbow. I said sure, and he probed my elbow with his fingers thoroughly for a couple of minutes. He then told me it was very well structured.
“I like your bones.”
“I like your butt hair.”
OK, that’s truely weird.
When I date, I seem to usually end up dating women who enjoy a hairy man.
Is it? Some like it hairy.
I had totally forgotten about it until now, but I got that same compliment.
I’m going to preface this with two things…
First, I realize it’ll sound fake. And second, I’m pretty sure she was just trying to stroke my ego, but…
One of my first girlfriends was a little odd. She was smart, well-spoken, witty and knew her way around a clever turn of phrase.
After we had finished having sex for the first time, she fake coughed into her hand, held it up to me and said
“Oh look, my ovaries…”
I believe you because while I am not literally your girlfriend, I am, metaphorically speaking, that girlfriend. I’m also childfree and maybe a dude so I wouldn’t say ovaries but I would definitely describe my clitoral erection and natural lubrication in exquisite detail.
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I don’t get it, is she saying you’re well endowed?
Because this is the internet and you can just say you’re packing a huge hog. No one will really know or care.
I don’t get it, is she saying you’re well endowed?
Yes. Which is why I think she was flattering me. Because I’m really quite average as far as I’m aware. lol.
A couple years agoI (at the time mid 30s male) was coming back from a movie with my GF at about 11pm waiting for a bus in the UK. Two moderately drunk guys (looked to be about 10 years younger?) were waking down the same sidewalk, and about 2 steps after they passed us, one of them turns around and goes “Mate…”, me and my GF look over and he’s looking me up and down, “… NICE ass!” then fist bumps me and keeps walking.
She was like “what the fuck was that?”
I said “meh, it happens”.