What Does It Mean When a Guy Scans Your Body? (+ How To React)

Some women enjoy it and find it flattering if a guy scans their body – and some women hate it and find it creepy or invasive.

However it makes you feel, I understand you wanting to know; what does it mean when a guy scans your body?

Let’s take a look at the most common reasons why guys do this, whether or not it means they like you, and some of the ways you can react:

What Does It Mean When a Guy Scans Your Body? (4 Reasons)

He’s Checking You Out!

I’ll start with the most obvious reason why a guy would be scanning your body, he’s checking you out because he likes what he sees.

Most guys will try and do this when they think you’re not looking. But some either do not care if a girl notices, or just can’t help themselves.

As this study explains, on a very basic human level, there are physical characteristics that most guys find attractive when being drawn to a partner.

On a more superficial level, a lot of guys are going to find it hard not to look an attractive woman up and down!

Related – 10 Signs a coworker secretly likes you!

He’s Attracted to You

Going one step further from a random guy checking you out, a guy scanning you might know that he likes you and wants to get to know you better.

If he’s a little shy and doesn’t have the courage to talk to you – or maybe he knows he can’t because you’re taken – this won’t stop him checking you out.

If you’re wondering if the guy likes you, start looking for other signs that he’s attracted to you.

There will be clues, even with guys that are really shy, especially if you approach them and start talking to them.

Look for the classic signs, such as; being nervous around you, getting close to you, complimenting you, asking others about you, and so on.

He’s Too Nervous to Make Eye Contact

If a guy likes you, making eye contact with you is a lot more difficult than it is with someone they aren’t interested in.

Seeing a guy look at you elsewhere on your body, especially when talking to you, is a strong sign that they are attracted to you and find it difficult to lock eyes.

You can further test this by talking to them. If they still find it difficult to make natural eye contact and are acting a little nervous, you know why!

He’s Taking Mental Notes

A guy scanning you might be taking mental notes of what he sees. This might not just be to do with your body, it could be to do with what you’re wearing or something else.

There might be a completely innocent explanation, such as the guy liking what you’re wearing or trying to figure out where your outfit is from so he can tell his girlfriend.

It could be any number of things really. It doesn’t always mean they are checking you out because they fancy you – even if that is the most likely explanation!

Related – More signs he likes you more than he’s letting on!

What to Do When a Guy Scans Your Body

If you catch a guy scanning your body and checking you out, what you should do depends on what you want to happen.

If you like the guy and want to know if he likes you, a few things you could do and say are:

• Wait until his eyes meet yours and smile at him.
• Scan his body, too, and make it pretty obvious you’re doing so.
• When you get the chance, you should say, “I noticed you were checking me out, like what you see?”
• Or you could say, “What do you think about what I’m wearing? It’s new.”
• If you’re confident when approaching guys you could say, “If you want to scan me up and down you could do it later when we go out.”

If you don’t like the guy scanning you and you’d prefer he didn’t do it or get any of the wrong signals, a few things you can do are:

• Give him a blank look or frown a little.
• Give a show of defensive body language, such as folding your arms or covering yourself if you’re holding anything in your hands.
• You could also drop into conversation that you have a partner, just in case they are not aware.
• If you want to say something to stop him, you could say, “I notice when you’re checking me out, maybe you should check out someone who is single.”
• Or, I know a friend who has actually said, “You’re wasting your time,” in a joking manner before.

The bottom line is that if a guy is scanning your body, he’s almost certainly attracted to you.

It’s a form of flirting, albeit a subtle one. Most girls do not react or respond in any way, it comes down to how it makes you feel.

Often, the guy has a partner, or the girl they are scanning does, too. It’s just something some guys can’t help doing when they see a girl they find attractive.

Related – Enjoyed this article? Read more about why men confide in other women and what to do if a friend is getting in the way of your relationship here.

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Image credits – Photo by Oveth Martinez on Unsplash