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How do People Recognise Flirting?

I'm 37..... I am not sure the dating thing. For me, It's a question of whether or not I want to get married at all.

Before implementing a plan, you need to know what the plan is as well as its corresponding goals. If you don't know what you want out of dating, then you won't accomplish much by dating, and it will just cause your self-professed emotions to escalate.

There are plenty of good posts already in this lengthy thread about flirting and dating. I don't want to rehash. However, I do think the single biggest point to take from it (TL;DR) is to be purposeful about what you are doing, how you do it, and why you are doing it.
 
You can flirt with literally anyone. I mean, there's billions of people on the planet, so I have to presume you're asking where you find people willing to reciprocate? There's no magic answer. You always risk rejection, but then rejection is usually more about the rejector than the rejectee. In other words, rejection isn't really a statement about the person being rejected so much as it is the person doing the rejection. No one is universally appealing, and so you never know if a person you try flirting with will feel like flirting with you. In fact, most may not. You just keep playing the numbers game until someone does reciprocate. Flirting is also a skill - think of it like a modifier that increases with practice. It boosts your chance of reciprocation but does not guarantee it.

Either you have lived a very secluded life or, more likely, you just don't know how to recognize it. If the latter is the case, then you came to the right place. Unfortunately, no advice we can offer online beats experience. The best advice I can give is to practice, practice, practice, and to avoid taking rejections too seriously. It is BOUND to happen to anyone who practices flirting as much as I used to. It should be more about having fun and less about the results if you really want to excel - that may seem counter-intuitive, but the more you focus on WHY you are flirting, the less fun you have flirting, the less effective you are at flirting. In my experience, you will flirt better if you can steer your mind into a playful, fun-seeking state. When you notices others reciprocating your efforts, then you're making progress.

For the sake of practice so you can get the results you want (e.g., flirt your way to a phone number, date, and eventually a committed relationship or even marriage). Again, focusing on results WHILE flirting is often counter-productive since it puts you into the wrong mental state (same reason you don't look down when in a high place).

However, observing the results afterwards is how you learn. Some tactics will work for you, and others won't. There are almost too many variables to give concrete advise over the intrawebz, but surely there is someone you know IRL who is good at flirting who can show you the ropes?

Anyway, the goal is to flirt your way towards your romantic/relationship goals for life, if any. If you are asexual, then this may not be something that interests you. Otherwise, I would recommend taking it seriously.

When you get better at it, it is kind of fun. I made a game out of it - can I get her number, and so on. I wasn't predatory - just trying to hone my skills so that I would be up to the task when I met the right person. The problem is, if you wait for a guy you're serious about, then you are liable to mess up due to inexperience. Sometimes friendship can overcome this, and sometimes not. Flirting can often take a friend from friend to more than a friend.

Hypothetically, if your life's ambition was to be president of the US, then you would be wise to start by running for a local or state office rather than declaring your candidacy for the oval office. Flirting is similar - don't find someone you really care about and then try to flirt your way to victory with no prior experience or practice and risk losing someone important. Start on someone you don't know instead. If that happens to work straight out the gate and develops into long-term potential, then great. If not, then at least you didn't alienate someone with whom you had a pre-existing friendship.

This is why you start with strangers rather than friends. If it results in embarrassment, then you never have to see that person again. Zero risk. Also, embarrassment is just an emotion that keeps people from their goals in life. Your choices are to get over it or suffer the deleterious effect it has on your life.

Again, if you get to know, like, and care for someone, then this is a bad person to start out with. It is a common mistake. You think it will be easier with someone you know and are comfortable with, but imagine if it blows up on you with someone you know versus a stranger? With a stranger you leave the area and start over somewhere else. With a friend or acquaintance, you can't simply walk away from the embarrassment. Heck, your friends may even know where you live...

When I was a kid, I used to go to an amusement park and practice - lots of strangers in an environment boasting both internal security and entertainment. If I struck out, then I went to a different spot and tried again. I did this summer in and summer out until I was comfortable flirting with women I knew on a deeper level.

Rocco is wise in this. Heed his sage call to action.

Something you're saying in this I find extremely odd: You go up to random strangers and flirt with them? Wouldn't that be considered extremely creepy? I am in college, and have never been on a date. I'm not sure if a girl I like is flirting with me or not, hence my entrance to the thread. I would like to have experience with this whole flirting thing so I'm less likely to mess it up with her, but if you're saying to flirt with random strangers, I feel that I'm likely going to get the cops called on me.
 
Something you're saying in this I find extremely odd: You go up to random strangers and flirt with them? Wouldn't that be considered extremely creepy?
It depends. It can be creepy, but not always. Unfortunately, if one has poor social skills, one will easily accidentally appear creepy.
Just walking up to a random stranger and flirting does seem creepy. However, if you can get to know people through some shared activity, then it is better.
Anyway, I found an interesting example of someone flirting with a stranger, and not appearing creepy. So it is possible, but not likely or easy.
This Future Time It Worked » Funny & Unusual Romantic & Love Stories – Not Always Romantic
 
I think this is a tough issue for everyone including NTs. I don't know how to do it I just ask for their phone number and do something together and if she agrees is because she has interest.
 
I'm high functioning autistic and I have trouble understanding flirting like one time I thought a girl was being mean to me and later my gf told me she was flirting
 
I'm pretty clueless too... Many times someone had a honest crush on me, and I didn't notice.
There was once, when the pharmacy shop guy had a crush on me and I didn't find out until one day my dad came with me to the pharmacy shop and he noticied the guy looking at him, blushing, beign very kind, even shy with me, he got easily distracted looking at me to the point another client got him in trouble and his boss had to reprimand him. Then my dad told me "don't you know he is into you? You didn't notice?"
Well I didn't, because he behaved the same way since I first met him so I had no clue or refence that would tell me his behaviour meant he had a crush on me or was flirting. I then developed a crush on him, but since he didn't make a clear move nothing ever happened.

To me is confusing because of what I said, if is someone new I have no reference on how that person behaves so I assume if that person is kind, might be because that person is naturally kind. Apparently I had a tendency to attract the sort of guys I'm not really attracted to, or might be their attention towards me overwhelmes me, they use to be quite bold at times, like sitting next to me during every class and such.

At the same time when I like someone I'm more kind than usual and caring with that person. I'll do many kind gestures. At some point the person would catch up that I'm into them and would make a move or come clear I'm into you too or not.

Flirt per se, at times I seem to naturally flirt, I guess when I'm very comfortable with that person -know them for long, have a good emotional vibe-, like play innuendos or be more physical with that person (hug, or caress hand or just be physically closer).

But that doesn't happen often, so as I said I'm generally clueless.
 
Method 1: #7: Objective vs Subjective Compliments seems reasonable.
Method 2: This all looks pretty hopeless. (Eye contact, smiling, touching...)
How to Flirt (with Pictures) - wikiHow

Flirting - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lots of fun links, too.
Example: Protean signals. Previously described unpredictable behavior exhibited by prey animals.
Used in the context of human courtship behavior in 2000.

SIRC Guide to flirting
Pleasantly objective, no goofy drawings of sappy humanoids with hearts over their heads.
Describes 'reciprocal disclosure,' paraphrasing, timing, an alarmingly creepy sounding event termed
"non-verbal leakage" (which turns out to mean...watch the other person's body language. If only the
head is turned toward you, he/she is not paying full attention to you. Attention is primarily elsewhere.)
A long article.
 
I love the "where to flirt" ideas:

Parties: I haven't been to a real party since 1997 or 1998. There was the time I went to a friend's for New Year's - we watched Das Boot. What a world that surrounds me.
Drinking-places: I haven't been more than very slightly buzzed since 1993. Also, where do the thirty-and-forty-somethings hang out, anyway? Also, I'm the one who attracts the ridiculously friendly drunk guy who doesn't know the meaning of the phrase "buzz off".
Learning-places: I'm kind of old for that, really.
Workplace: No, I'm good, thanks. Anyone interesting has been promoted beyond appropriate flirting territory, or they've been fired. But you knew that already.
Participant sports: Sorry, I don't own bikes anymore because they get stolen anyway.
Spectator events: Because they're British, they suggest going to the races. Anyone age-appropriate for me that would actually be at the Downs probably uses a voice box because they've been smoking since the age of 14.

So, to summarize, I don't know where to look for love, (and I don't know how). Well, OK, I could kind of relearn how, but it bothers me that flirting has to be a conscious effort for me, and one that I've not even attempted to practice since the late 2000s.
 
" Flirt per se, at times I seem to naturally flirt, I guess when I'm very comfortable with that person -know them for long, have a good emotional vibe-, like play innuendos or be more physical with that person (hug, or caress hand or just be physically closer).

But that doesn't happen often, so as I said I'm generally clueless."

Agree! Yes, and you can play with the words, build on previous interactions, such as, when he said he was going "now where?" the very next thing to say could be "Still going 'no where' fast?" silly, for me, it's calming too. I love to play!


"I had no clue or refence that would tell me his behaviour meant he had a crush on me or was flirting. I then developed a crush on him, but since he didn't make a clear move nothing ever happened."

aw, yeah..... I totally understand the frustration. argh.........

Right now, I'm not sure I feel brave to ask anyone anything, (gosh, isn't that HIS job?) but here is a line , not for me, that might be fun for you all to try????? (Not sure it's flirting, so, not sure I'm helping this thread? smiles:


"What is your name?"
(person responds, probably common name.)
"I already know someone with that name. You have to pick a different name." (I hope my ridiculous giggles and/or huge silly smile pass as flirting I suppose? ; ) (Is it cute???? does it work?? I don't know?? maybe I'm really weird?!) er, ahem, my therapist just encourages me to talk, anything, just talk,. "Who would not want to talk to a beautiful lady?" (he's very kind. Isn't he?) So, I have been encouraged to talk, um, and sometimes, I say really odd things. Such is life, eh? I have something nice to say..... if I see him? someday? so confusing......
 
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I have NO clue... I've had a housemate (aged 50) try to kiss me when I was 22 because I was apparently flirting. Umm, no. I've also been thinking I've been subtle about my flirting and had my now-boyfriend tell me that I was about as subtle as a sledgehammer. I make a point of telling people that I can't guage people's subtleties, and that I speak what I feel and that they should do the same with me.
 
Okay, so this little bit of weirdness happened about this time yesterday.

I walk out of my building and shortly thereafter this woman walks out of hers, the one immediately to my south. I'm on my way to the Legislative Grounds, slowly as to not invade her personal space. (Aren't I nice?) We cross Broadway and she continues for several steps, so she's heading for the Village, right? Nope, she's heading in the same direction as I. Why walk those extra steps?

Her: I don't want to get pooped on.
Me: Pardon?
Her: (points up) I don't want to get pooped on.
Me: Oh. (there's a bird on the streetlight)

Okey-dokey, I've spoken more than pleasantries to exactly two of my neighbours in the 12 years I've lived here. One was a university classmate for a year. The other was a medium-term flirtation I had in the late 2000s - it ended pretty much when I did find out she was my neighbour - I had been a customer of hers at my grocery. There's a reason for this: normal people don't live on this block. (Yes, I am aware of the irony of that statement.)

So, was this a really weird attempt at flirtation on her part? I'm thinking about 80% yes.

(I did learn that the Legislature is open until 8:00, even on Sundays. The irony is that their laws make pretty much any other business close at 6:00 on Sundays.)
 
Maybe you should talk to her? ???? (I suggest talking about something other than bird deposits though. : ) (oh, what the heck? give her a gift? an umbrella? that might even be funny? who knows? I have a very odd sense of humor? maybe you should seek confirmation on that idea. um. er... ah.... hmmm....)

Did you introduce yourself? you are neighbors, right? share? bring over a loaf of bread or something? a "hello" and "nice to meet you" card? Do people do that anymore? ??? and why not?

I just gave sun flowers and cards to about five or six of my neighbors. (male, female, old, young, married and not married.) It seems like I do that every year. People like flowers, right? It's nice for the neighborhood.
 
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Maybe you should talk to her? ???? (I suggest talking about something other than bird deposits though. : ) (oh, what the heck? give her a gift? an umbrella? that might even be funny? who knows? I have a very odd sense of humor? maybe you should seek confirmation on that idea. um. er... ah.... hmmm....)

Did you introduce yourself? you are neighbors, right? share? bring over a loaf of bread or something? a "hello" and "nice to meet you" card? Do people do that anymore? ??? and why not?

I just gave sun flowers and cards to about five or six of my neighbors. (male, female, old, young, married and not married.) It seems like I do that every year. People like flowers, right? It's nice for the neighborhood.

I was quite creeped out by the whole thing, so forgive me if I didn't pull this off so wonderfully. If I do see her again I now know something to joke about.

Oh, she was also carrying some sort of leaflet, so that ups the flake quotient just a bit.
 
Well, I'm told I'm a natural flirt and, I do draw attention and more proposals from total strangers than I think is normal so, I must be good at flirting. As for recognizing when someone is flirting with me, not usually unless they are being really obvious, staring at me, touching me a lot as we talk, making passes or, propositioning me, or proposing of course.

My question would be how do I stop flirting because I seem to fail entirely at that.
 
Cheers, People who do know how to flirt? Go Play! You might win! ; )

Beverly, I would sincerely hope that when a person is satisfied in marriage that they would not feel lusty and needy. (perhaps for the committed partner though?) But perhaps, not all humans share these morals????? YIKES!

It seems like men are constantly tuned in to a different 'radio frequency' than women??? maybe constantly SEEKING mode? maybe it is primal? I don't think you can change how other people perceive you. But perhaps, you can modify behavior? perhaps less hair twisting action, less lip biting, less nervous giggles & smiles? just an idea?
 
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