How to Talk to a Woman Who Is Wearing Headphones

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About

"How to Talk to a Woman Who is Wearing Headphones" is a pickup tutorial article written by Dan Bacon and originally published on Australian men's interest blog The Modern Man in October 2013.

Origin

While "How to Talk to a Woman Who is Wearing Headphones" was first published in October 2013, the article didn't receive any mass exposure until August 29th, 2016, when the article was rediscovered and shared among bloggers and commentators on Twitter. Upon entering mass circulation, the article quickly prompted a debate on the propriety of approaching strangers with headphones in public.

The Article

Bacon's article^[1] is divided into four sections. The first offers a step-by-step guide on how to approach women with headphones, with advice like "Stand in front of her (with 1-1.5 meters between you)." The second gives an example of dialogue to engage in once a man has successfully gotten a woman to remove her headphones (shown below). The third outlines common mistakes men make in this situation. The fourth assures men that most women like being approached.

You: [Smile in a friendly, confident manner)Hey-I know it's not normal for people to talk to someone with headphones in, but I was walking along and saw you and thought - wow, she's hot, I have to come over and say hi. I'm Dan, what's your name? Woman: Jessica. You: [Add in some humor to get her smiling and create a spark betweern you] Cool...nice to meet you Jessica. I don't normally talk to girls with headphones, but your big green headphones were just calling out to me Woman: [Possibly smiling or laughing You: [If you're in a shopping mall or city street, let her know that you have something else to do besides talk to her, so she understands that you're not going to stand there talking to her for 30 minutes] Anyway,I'm just out doing a bit of shopping at the moment. How about you?

Spread

Criticism of the article has largely focused on how it ignores the idea that for many women, wearing headphones is a clear sign they are not interested in being hit on. Twitter user @YoPhoebs^[2] posted a screenshot of the article's title and answered it, "you don't." The tweet, shown below, gained over 5,000 retweets and 7,600 likes in a little over 24 hours.

ModernMan How to Talk to a Woman Who is Wearing Headphones PHOEBE @YoPhoebs Aug 29 You don't

Other Twitter users mocked the piece, turning "How to Talk To a Woman" into a phrasal template with which they'd either offer satirical advice on how to talk to a woman with headphones or they'd rewrite the headline altogether.

Miss O'Kistic @missokistic Follow How to Talk to a Woman Whose Headphone Wires Have Mysteriously Transformed into Venomous Snakes and Are Now Biting You to Death

David Jackmanson Follow @djackmanson How to approach women who wear headphones: 1) Get in the bin 2) Set the bin on fire 3) Roll the bin away from the woman 4) Towards the sea

Ben Coleman Follow OhColeman How to talk to a woman wearing headphones: Record an audio book. Now you are INSIDE the headphones! This, friend, is the art of war.

News Media Coverage

News publications soon picked up the article's online spread. Metro.co.uk,^[3] Huffington Post,^[4] Vice,^[5] AskMen,^[6] Glamour,^[7] and others published articles offering point-by-point criticism of Bacon's piece and giving the advice, "Don't talk to women wearing headphones." Buzzfeed^[8] compiled a list of Twitter's best responses. It also published a parody piece titled "How to Talk To a Woman Even Though She's a Ghost."^[9] The Independent^[10] also parodied the article by imagining it in a "more realistic" screenplay.

Various Examples

Amanda Pandamoanimum * 요. Follow "How did you and your husband meet?" "I was wearing headphones and he persistently harassed me to get my attention" Said no woman ever.

Tom Freeman SnoozelnBrief な Follow MY How to Talk to a Woman Whose Mechanically Cadenced, Disembodied Voice Continues to Insist There is an Unexpected Item in the Bagging Area

Mara Wilson MaraWilson * Follow Don't approach me while I am wearing headphones because I have a very strong startle reflex and might scream in your face, not even kidding

Nev Tragically Park @neville_park Follow How To Talk To A Woman Who's Sitting In Her Web Eating Insects RETWEETSU LIKES 47

Orbette @orbette 2: Follow How To Talk To A Woman Who Is Mainly Bees RETWEETS LIKES 145 8:48 AM-30 Aug 2016

Duchess of Beefcake @tthcomic Follow Headphones are the universal warning, they are the rattle on the rattle snake, a hissing arched cat, a brightly colored frog: STAY AWAY

Search Interest

Unavailable

External References

^[1] The Modern Man – How to Talk to a Woman Who is Wearing Headphones

^[2] Twitter – @YoPhoebs

^[3] Metro.co.uk – A blogger told men how to talk to women who are wearing headphones and people are not impressed

^[4] Huffington Post – Wondering How To Talk To A Woman Who’s Wearing Headphones? Don’t.

^[5] Vice – How Not to Talk to a Woman Wearing Headphones

^[6] AskMen – How To Talk To A Woman Who Is Wearing Headphones

^[7] Glamour – Dear Dan Bacon: this is how you talk to a woman wearing headphones

^[8] Buzzfeed – People Are Pissed About This Guy’s Article About Bothering Women Wearing Headphones

^[9] Buzzfeed – How To Talk To A Woman Even Though She’s A Ghost

^[10] The Independent – Dan Bacon: How to Talk to a Woman Who is Wearing Headphones – a short screenplay

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Top Comments

thefrozenone

Aug 30, 2016 at 01:57PM EDT

Am I the only one who only wears headphones because I like listening to music and not for some passive-aggressive, anti-social behavior?

Like seriously, if you don’t want people talking to you just tell them to fuck off. People these days are so socially inept it boarders absurd.

+86

lisalombs

Aug 30, 2016 at 02:59PM EDT in reply to lisalombs

also if someone interrupted me with: "wow ur hot I usually don't talk to girls wearing headphones, btw I'm just shopping lol" I would genuinely think they had some mild mental retardation.

+31

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