Are young women confused when liking someone?

[JamesHank]

I’m a college student from Greece and I’ve been thinking about something lately.

Do you think that when a young woman is genuinely into a guy, she’ll naturally make it easier for him to approach and move things forward? Like, clear signals, openness, less mixed messages?

I also can’t help but notice that a lot of men who constantly say “women don’t know what they want” might actually be using that as a coping mechanism. Sometimes it feels easier to generalize than to admit that maybe the interest just wasn’t mutual.

Curious to hear different perspectives on this.

Men often blame women for their failures.

The guys complaining the loudest are the ones women should steer clear of!

No. Young women aren't usually confused about who they like and are very capable of obviously welcoming advances from men they are interested in.

If the signals seem mixed to men, it is often because women aren't interested but have been conditioned to be kind about it. It is a real minefield for women generally when a man doesn't pick up on the kind version of "no thanks," and it can become excruciatingly awkward and intimidating when they keep trying to connect in a way that isn't welcome. There are far too many "coaching" content providers telling men that a "no" can be negotiated into a "yes". This is terrible advice, both for the man who comes across as a nightmare who doesn't respect her boundaries and the woman who has to deal with him.

Offer to buy him a rum and Coca-Cola.

Do you think that when a young woman is genuinely into a guy, she’ll naturally make it easier for him to approach and move things forward? Like, clear signals, openness, less mixed messages?

Given that some men misinterpret a woman interacting pleasantly with them as a sign that she fancies him, I would say the only truly accurate signal a woman could give would be to hold up a sign saying "I fancy you". As women don't do that, I think no, there generally isn't a clear change in behaviour that signals she wants to be approached.

There may be a plethora of reasons why there are mixed messages - past hurts, current personal circumstances, focus is on studies and work, etc. If a woman is into you and you're only dropping hints, be clear and make a move. As in, ask for date!

If she says no, what are you worried about? Your ego being bruised? She may like you too, but may not be able to be as direct as you'd like if you're not making your intentions clear enough either.

“women don’t know what they want” is the thin edge of rape culture.

Exactly what @Raquelos said.

Women know exactly what we want and what we don't want.
Some men confuse politeness with interest.

If you are not good at reading signals then ask a woman straight out.
If she walks away in a hurry you have your non-verbal answer otherwise she'll politely decline or say she already has a boyfriend.

Answer it the other way please:

"Do you think that when a young woman man is genuinely into a guy woman, she’ll naturally make it easier for him her to approach and move things forward? Like, clear signals, openness, less mixed messages?"

There's your answer.

Yep, although I think many men don't know what they want either!

I'll see what I can do.

I only flirt outrageously with men I'm not interested in. Men that I am interested in, I actually become quite bashful if I think they might be interested too. I'm polite to everyone.
Maybe that's just me and that isn't the norm.

Well put.

This is spot on!

I think most women know what they want and signal it perfectly clearly. I think the "women are mysterious creatures" trope is just a misogynistic way of explaining that men don't listen.

Same here regarding men I was interested in...I think I was quite standoffish, and never encouraged them one iota.

I was surprised that any of the men I fancied stuck around, but thankfully they did.

What one person may think are clear signals, openness etc may not be anything like as clear to the person on the receiving end.

Plus men are - quite rightly - regularly reminded that just because a woman is being nice to you in no way implies that she's interested in a relationship.

Here's an idea - if you're a woman who's interested in a man, why are you dropping signals in the hope he'll make the first move rather than you making the first move yourself?

Everyone is different! Men and women. We all want different sorts of partners. Some of us are NT, some ND. There's no one answer to your question-it depends on the individual.
And not just young ones either.

I don't think it's that "women don't know what they want", I think that many women are incredibly optimistic about how clear the signals they're making actually are.

When men say women give mixed messages they are usually referring to women being polite, friendly even, but not wanting to date them. When they say women don't know what they want, they usually mean women who tell them they don't want to date them, but are still prepared to be friendly and polite.

Most women don't make the first move unfortunately

A lot of women don't want to be labelled a bunny boiler.

A lot of men don't because they don't want to be labelled a creep

Asking once for a date and moving on if it's a no is not the behaviour of a creep. A creep is someone who persists when told no.

And I have known men to use the bunny boiler line even if he does welcome being moved in on first (and love bombs the woman!)

I'm sure that's the case with many women. Just like most men wouldn't call a woman a bunny-boiler for approaching them. But there's enough of both who would react badly to make people cautious.