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.
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.
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.
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
Search Interest
Unavailable
External References
[1] The Modern Man – How to Talk to a Woman Who is Wearing Headphones
[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
lisalombs
Aug 30, 2016 at 02:59PM EDT in reply to