I definitely read signals correctlyHalp wrote:What you’ve described is initiating groping, based on what you think is consent. Now, maybe you personally read signals right in the dating context, and maybe you don’t. I don’t know. But that’s beside the point I’m trying to make.pithypike wrote:When dancing, hands often find their way onto a woman's waist. Movement down to hips is not atypical, but could be construed negatively by the recipient if the initiator has misread the situation.
There are gray areas in life, especially in the murkiness of socializing and early stages of romance. What one construes as groping could be construed by another as a typical step in escalating romance/intimacy.
This isn't really a big stretch.
I used to date a lot, and I never asked a woman for consent verbally, just read the cues and took the lead. No issues. I do agree with you that people who don't have this skillset should stay in their lane though; otherwise they may end up like this dude (assuming this is what happened.)
What I’m saying is that at a work after party, it’s not a dating context, and it’s just not okay to assume consent to put your hands anywhere on anyone else, no matter how much of a twinkle you think you see in a woman’s eye or how she’s dancing. I just don’t think this should be a controversial line to draw.
As to your second point, a wise man once said:
That's why you never, ever, ever initiate anything ever with anybody who is remotely tied to your professional environment.