Or do you prefer other adjectives? Do you consider it to be insulting or do you take it for a compliment if it was meant as one? (Assume an amenable relationship between the two people, not a random stranger or creeper)
Depends on context. “Cute” can be infantalizing and condescending, or not, or somewhere in between. In general, any blanket statements about relationships comes down to context.
As a male approaching middle-age this thread is confirming a lot of my suspicions that I never really had a firm understanding of. -Commenting on someone else’s aesthetic appeal in relation to oneself seems to be an often questionable practice, especially if it’s not someone one knows well.
So what I’m gleaming from this, all other things being equal:
- objects (clothes, accessories): okay
- the person themselve: not so much
For me, if anything, it depends on intentions. Most often though I’m just told I’m attention-seeking as opposed to cute, even with things like my clothing which consists of the same few things in circulation.
It’s only really fine if someone calls me an appearance-based compliment if they’re my partner or a woman that I’m close to.
Yes because I am cute. Actually. That’s my aesthetic.
Edit: I see a lot of people calling it infantilizing, but it’s my personality. And I’m older than other people on here have said they are.
