The last 10-20 years men have been told to leave women alone,not to approach them because it's harassment, etc. And very often when men do- it is seen as a chance for women to blow them off rudely and publicly embarrass them. And forget about the work place.
And that's if a guy can even find a woman that looks like she wants to be approached.
After this happens 5 or 50 times- it's just easier for guys to say Fk it and not bother any more.

You’ve been listening to the wrong people of course. Probably some guy telling you what women want or don’t want and giving other guys dating advice. If you listened instead to the women, we would tell you it’s all about how you approach a woman and how to react if she isn’t interested. Respectfully is the key, and not turning into a butthurt AH if she says no. My post isn’t about that however. I’m not talking about a first approach but about someone who’s pursuing without being clear about his intentions.

If you're not sure where you stand, you already have your answer. You don't stand, there's no interest, time to keep it moving.

Replace the last word in the confession with ‘woman’. Men in general are quite direct and simple in communication style. Women tend to drop hints or beat around the bush rather than candidly express needs, wants,desires. Communication differences are based on how the sexes were socialized. Would be nice if everyone was straight up and honest but…

Oh sure thing, men are SO honest and clear about their intentions and would never lie or deliberately mislead a woman. My eyes could not possibly be rolling more than they are right now. The reality is that men do this all the time. They pretend to want a relationship when really they’re just looking to use the woman for whatever they can get from her. So I’m not sure where you’re getting this idea that it women not being honest about their intentions, because I’ve been saying exactly what I want from the start.

Of course that's what you'd say, you have zero idea of what it's like.
Why not check out Norah Vincent before making such smug proclamations?
And how about women be more clear about things instead of dropping vague hints like the last poster stated?

I’m a woman and I would have agreed with your assessment, but mention that there are some of us women who are direct and hope/figure the guy will be too, but it seems like most of my ex-bfs would play the so-called “female role” of dropping hints & using subtle manipulation to get things their way.
Maybe it’s the old thing of opposites attracting?

Guys get tired of being shot down hundreds of times, and won't stick their necks out anymore.

I think the Spice Girls said it best:
I wanna really, really, really,wanna zigazig, ah