I'm a college freshman and I have a question about approaching women with masks on. My college does not require that you wear them and there are very little cases of COVID, but even so probably 85% of women wear masks outside and 95% wear them inside. There is no need to wear them any more, but I cultivate my independence by not giving a **** about wearing them wherever I go.
This is a good question. I think this topic of approaching in a mask era has been under considered on this forum during the pandemic.
Wow, that is a lot of outdoor mask wearing. I hope that it is a big university. 15% of a 50,000 student population is a viable audience. 15% of a 3,000 student population is going to be way more challenging.
Good for you for not giving a fuuck about it.
When I approach women with masks on, I find reading their facial cues to be difficult. Judging their facial attractiveness is also hard. I can't see if they smile when making eye contact, so it is more of a challenge to judge their interests. Any advice for helping with these difficulties?
You have a good point. Early in the pandemic, I noticed that grocery store approaching became more difficult with masks. I prefer getting good IOIs before approaching in non-bar settings or non-private party settings. Private residence parties have typically been a big thing with college students, especially the 18-20 year olds.
My workaround would be to do more outdoor approaching, which I have done. You have do this more easily than most men. You can do random on campus approaching.
You could do some variation of the clip below in terms of outdoor approaching on campus. Keep in mind that this guy is more of a prankster than player but there are applicable lessons for Don Juans in this....
If anything, you should be paying attention to any good looking women that are wearing no masks. Those are the keepers.
If your college doesn't require it, I would personally suggest you refuse to talk to, let alone acknowledge any women wearing a mask (especially outdoors). Not only does it dampen nonverbal communication, and hide their facial features, but it is a sure sign they are infantile and naive, both of which are qualities you should avoid.
Make it easier on yourself and only talk to maskless women.
Agree with both of these posters. You're going to be better positioned for success with maskless women outdoors. I'd still choose in-person approaching outdoors over swiping on an app. You have a major advantage as a college student as compared to some white collar working 30-35 year old man. Mostly everyone you know is going to be 18-20 and are single. A 30-35 year old man isn't going to have the access to women and access to single women you have so he perceive a need to swipe more so than a guy on campus with access to unmarried, childless women in their primes who have yet to be jaded by bad experiences.
