If you have recently noticed that a guy tends to scan your body you’re probably wondering why and what it might mean.
This post will try to help you figure out why a guy might scan your body and to make sense of it in the future.
So, what does it mean if a guy scans your body? It could be that he is attracted to you which would be more likely if he only scans your body, he only does it to you and if he does it repeatedly. He might also do it naturally to observe if you’re a threat, he might be nervous to talk to you or he might find you interesting.
Since there are a number of reasons why a guy might scan your body it is important to consider the body language signals that he shows when he does it.
By doing so you will be able to get a better idea of the motivations he has behind scanning your body.
Why a guy might scan your body
Each of the different reasons why a guy might scan your body will likely come with a number of clues in his body language.
Below, I will mention a number of reasons why a guy might scan your body and the body language signals to look for.
He finds you attractive
If a guy scans your body it would be likely that he is checking you out especially if he does it more than once and you’re the only one that he did it
If he is attracted to you then it would be likely that he would show it in a number of different ways in his body language and behavior.
These ways can include:
- Glancing at you regularly and quickly looking away or smiling when you notice
- Having dilated pupils when talking to you
- Standing close to you when talking to you.
- Positioning himself to be near you
- Touching you more than others in the group
- Asking you more questions than other people in the group
- Adjusting his clothing or hair when he notices you
- Changing his behavior or body language when he notices you
- Pointing his feet towards you even when not directly in front of you
- Asking your friends about you
- Laughing and looking to see if you are laughing as well
- Showing signs of anxiety when you’re talking to other men
- Getting defensive when other men are around
- Showing signs of nervousness when talking to you
- Holding eye contact with you for longer than normal
- Blinking more frequently when talking to you
He’s observing to see if you’re a threat
When a person first notices another person it is natural for them to scan their body to see if
Usually, the first things that they will observe are the hands and if the person’s body language appears to be threatening or if it is welcoming where it is showing the vulnerable areas such as the palms.
If the guy only scans your body once and doesn’t do it again and he doesn’t show other signs of attraction then it would make it more likely that he was just initially observing you too see if you’re a threat.
He’s nervous to talk to you
It could be the case that he did it because he found you attractive but he was too nervous to talk to you.
If this was the case then he would likely have shown a mixture of body language signals suggesting attraction and nervousness.
These could have included:
- Having dilated pupils when looking at you
- Tapping the fingers and feet
- Pointing the feet towards you
- Looking at you regularly
- Watching you when you were with other men
- Rubbing the arms, face, neck or legs
- Touching the neck
- Self-hugging
- Asking your friends about you
- Mirroring your body language and behaviors
He finds you interesting
The reason that he scanned your body could be that he finds you interesting.
It could be that he thought you were wearing interesting clothing, you had an interesting look about you or that he thought you had an interesting personality.
If this was the case then he likely would have looked at you often but he would be less likely to show a number of the signals of attraction such as getting anxious when you’re with other men or getting nervous around you.
Consider how many times he did it
Something that would be helpful in figuring out why he scanned your body would be to consider the number of times that he did it.
If he did it only once then it would be less likely that he did it due to attraction or that he found you interesting and it would be more likely that he was initially observing if you’re a threat.
If he did it multiple times then it would make it more likely that he was checking you out.
Consider when and where he did it
Thinking about the timing of when he scanned your body and the location that he did it in would also be helpful.
If he did it when you were walking past him on the street then it would make it more likely that he was observing which side you would go on when walking past and less likely that he was checking you out. That is unless he looked back when he went past you in which case he probably was checking you out.
If he did it after already having initially noticed you in a social setting such as a party then it would make it more likely that he was attracted to you.
Consider his normal body language
When trying to figure out why he scanned your body it would be helpful to know what his normal body language and behavior looks like.
If he tends to scan other people other aspects of his body language and behavior don’t change when he does it to you then it wouldn’t be a strong indicator that he’s doing it for any particular reason.
However, if it only seems to be you that he does it to and his body language changes when he does it then it would suggest that he was doing it for one of the reasons mentioned above.
Think about it in terms of groups of body language signals
When you’re trying to make sense of what a guy’s body language signals might be suggesting it would be best to consider it in conjunction with multiple other body language signals that he was showing.
If he was scanning your body and other body language signals were pointing towards attraction then it would make it much more likely that he was doing it due to finding you attractive.
If you want to learn more about body language, a book I would recommend would be The Definitive Book of Body Language (on Amazon). It shows you how to interpret body language and understand people's true intentions.