Yes and yes.
Mostly friends and acquaintances. But yes, done right now problem from stranger women either.
Basically it comes down to a few factors.
1) women are much more subtle about than men. The validation interaction occurs between the two parties and no one else even knows or notices. For catcalling men or men who hit on strangers in public it's as much or more about being seen doing it as it is about expressing sexuality. They seem to publicly humiliate as a dominance display. It's about them, not you.
2) since women are perceived generally as the target or goal ... the ones being chosen in other words, to be acknowledged amongst your peers is uplifting. Theyre basically telling you you're in a moment to shine.
3) personal space is rarely violates in these instances.
4) Women will validate as an act of care; with men, it's only ever about their sexual desire. For example, women know that some women will dress to the nines when they feel bad to make themselves feel better. A good friend will notice and say something sexually validating like, "you look dressed to kill (while looking them over performatively and smiling). You have a date after work or something?" At this point the work buddy will say, "no, I have a sore throat and needed a boost facing 8 hours on the phone" or something. Then you can circle back around and check on them, offer them a lozenge if you have one, bring them soup for lunch, etc. In this example, it was never about sex and it was never about me. It was about her.
Another example of how differently these things go.... I got noticed by a lesbian or bisexual woman on the bus a couple of weeks ago. I didn't know her and she didn't know me. I was reading an article on my phone and looked up to tuck my hair behind my ears to see her gazing at me with that look. She drops her head, turns a little red, and turns toward the window with a little sigh. I find myself smiling because she thinks I'm hot and that's nice. I look back down at my phone and then glance back in a few seconds to see her clocking back to look at me and I smile at her to acknowledge her and then go back to my phone. I could have invited her over with a glance or moved next to her if I was interested. But I'm hetero.
See how subtle that is? No one else is disturbed by an aggressive bawdy display. I was a secret conversation of body language between us. Nothing more. Perfect and sublime.
