Jesus Christ. We dress to sexy and it distracts you. We smell good and it drives you crazy. We wear makeup and we look slutty. Now because we keep our eyes lowered you think we are dysfunctional lesbians with no social skills. I'm sorry we are not doing everything you want a woman to do. After all we are just here to please men right? Even strangers on the street are displeased with us. It's so hard to be available to every man. I'm so sorry that women everywhere are such a disappointment to you. We will try harder to read your fucking mind and coddle your insecurities.

I'm sure you're one of the many single women in this city and you wonder why. You sound so delightful! /gag

You're right. I retract the original post.
If the response to actually making contact is such a hateful attitude, then there's obviously no point in even trying.

that'll get a thousand "thumbs-down" votes for daring to sound just slightly feminist, but here goes anyway. Have you ever considered that women, in general, avert their gaze from eye contact with you strictly because you're male? Until you've lived in female shoes for a time, you could not possibly understand how many men take simple eye contact as some sort of invitation, and then advance upon us in ways that make us feel unsafe. Not all men, to be sure. But so many men over the course of our lives that we learn it's best to avoid your gazes. Can you possibly empathize now?

"you're making it very awkward to approach you, let alone talk to you"

Maybe this one didn't want you to approach her or talk to her? You should be glad you were warned. I like when things are clear. When it's ambiguous it leads to more awkwardness.

...it's a pretty common social habit in Vancouver. Guys, gals, hamsters...everyone does it. Some people people do it because they are shy, some people do it because they have crap social skills, and some people do it because THEY DON'T WANT TO BE APPROACHED OR TALKED TO. Because frankly, there are a lot of weirdos* in Vancouver, and not all of us are in the mood for it 24 hrs a day - whether we are dudes, ladies, or otherwise.

*Weirdos: People with unnerving social expectations or boundaries pertaining to social bids, who use sentences like 'Ladies, is it so much to ask...?'

I've lived in the Middle East. And as a woman you MUST never openly gaze at any man. You will be severely harassed if you glance up even for a second. It is the highest level of danger to do so. That's just how it is. Here in North America it's fine to look at whomever you want. But it still invites harassment. So it is my right to avoid eye contact when surrounded by men looking for another disposable Vancouver sport fuck.

I'm not even remotely interested in you. I don't look at you, because I really don't want you to approach me. In spite of my obvious lack of interest in you, many of you still approach me and then wonder why you get shot down. If I am interested, you won't be asking yourself the question "why won't she look at me?"

Maybe you have a real creepy stare? What if your eye contact reminds people of a Luigi death stare(look up the meme)?

I can't think of a day that goes by where I don't share a pleasing glance with a stranger that usually turns into a pleasant and warm "hello" as we pass.

Maybe just a little mirror time working on your eye contact is in order.

Seeing as how my original post was not really "confession", I guess I should correct my error.

Based on the responses thus far, I confess that I am completely at a loss when it comes to understanding what women expect from a social encounter.