The ego part comes from forcing the woman to know about these random sexual thoughts.

If you're not forcing her to know by catcalling or harassing, etc....then, you're just having random sexual thoughts about someone you find attractive.

Welcome to the human race. It happens. We ALL do this. This is NOT objectification. It's having a functional set of eyeballs and the brain making untoward use of that fact but being all, "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas about it", .meaning the brain has the good sense to just enjoy that moment on the down low.

Again, NOT objectification.

But the second you intrude into her day and force her to know about these random sexual thoughts you had in that humiliating way by catcalling or harassing....now you're objectifying her because you're making it about you. Now EVERYBODY in the vicinity knows and you're putting your ego over her comfort and sense of safety. It's about your ego because it's announcing your desire in a way that denigrate her and is disrespectful of her personhood. Ergo, it's denigratng.

And let's face it....this over thr top unnecessary performance is a flex to other men most often. It's using the
woman to vie for status amongst a group of men. Or to express sexual dominance as a self soothing act.

Like I said before, it's not like women don't have these responses to visual or, for us, olfactory responses too. We just don't make asses of ourselves about it. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas....

Understand, I'm not accusing you, I'm reassuring you and trying to draw a clear line of what is objectifying and what is not.

Having random sexual thoughts that just pop up in your brain because you've had that sexual stimulation is not objectification.

What you do when you have them may be. If you're doing behavioral things that center you, that announces in some way, loudly and publicly in an embarrassing to her way, that you had the sexual stimulation, tylically to front to other men or display dominance, and that result in reducing her personhood....now we have an incidence of objectification.

Does that mean you can never approach and express interest without being a creep?

No. Of course not.

Again, go read Serendipity. You'll see what I'm talking about in action. Contrast that with Lack of Interest or Curiosity, which was borderline objectifying. Also demonstrates that sometimes women are seen as nothing but free labor and a wallet too.

Point is, you can absolutely approach if you want to. Nobody is demanding men be mentally neutered or whatever. What's being asked is that if you have sexual interest, you keep it respectful if youndecide tonact upon it and don't dehumanized the women or reduce them down to nothing but a set of body parts.

See the difference?