Acting playful or romantic toward someone without serious intention, often through teasing conversation or lighthearted behavior.
From the 17th century verb 'flirt,' possibly from French 'fleureter' (to skim or brush lightly), which relates to the idea of touching lightly or playfully. The suffix '-ing' makes it a present participle.
Flirting is essentially the human version of peacock behavior—we're showing off and testing chemistry through coded social signals that we all kind of understand but pretend not to.
Flirting expectations historically gendered women as passive recipients (expected to be 'flirted with') and men as active pursuers, creating asymmetrical power dynamics and restricting women's agency in courtship.
Use to describe behavior of any person regardless of gender. Acknowledge flirting is bidirectional consent-based interaction, not gendered pursuit.
["bantering","engaging playfully","exchanging wit"]
Women's flirtation and sexual agency have been historically pathologized while men's identical behavior was normalized—reclaiming this language recognizes equal right to playful interaction.
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