How did "creeps" and socially awkward men become conflated?

[Demo_Chris]

94. My objection is that you insist on using the term as something men DO, rather than something women f

My objection is that you are using the term to describe something men DO, rather than something women feel. The term is used to describe someone or something that made someone feel uncomfortable. That's ALL it means. A dark parking garage might be creepy, a homeless man walking down a deserted street, or that same street with no one visible. A guy in a suit on a bus, glancing once at a young girl then ignoring her the rest of the trip, might well scare the crap out of that girl -- while the same encounter might well pass unnoticed by a woman in her twenties. Creepy is how the 'victim' felt, not what the perpetrator did.

I understand that when you use this term to describe some guy's behavior, you have something specific in mind. And more, I suspect we would agree that the behavior is -- or could be-- disturbing. But where we might agree others do not, and have wildly expanded criteria. So let's stick to BEHAVIORS and talk about those without the labels.


NOTE: I have some work to do, so if you respond I will be back to read it later.