What's in a compliment?

Last week, Barry e-mailed me and said he noticed that I had a new picture up in my sidebar. I explained that I took the last one down because I was getting a few too many "nice boobs" comments from anonymous readers.

He countered that it's interesting that a woman would feel awkward with a remark like that, whereas many (nothing is universal) men would consider a woman noticing the size of his "bump" to be flattering. The difference, he reasoned, is that perhaps it's due to men's tendancy to be pleased by visual elements more so than women (the same idea that more men look at porn than women or go to strip clubs).

I said that I found it to be a little different when men I know will say something like "nice breasts in that shirt" versus a total stranger making a comment. It has more of a leering feeling that automatically sets my instincts in motion of wanting to be careful, watch out, and figure out if the person is sincere or a creepy Internet stalker (again, these are anonymous comments). I think it comes back to women being somewhat trained to put the protective guard up as soon as something doesn't feel quite right.

On the friend flipside, even though it doesn't bother me nearly as much, I would still honestly prefer to receive a compliment for my eyes, smile or wit. Perhaps these are my insecurities coming into play, but it's almost as if they're saying "while I like your breasts, the rest of you isn't good enough" because these aren't people that want to date me. The irony is that these are mostly just balls of fat, so it's interesting that oftentimes men want large breasts with a tiny body (surgical help not included, of course).

So, I toss this out to you. Women - does it bother you at all if you get a compliment on your breasts from friends or strangers? Men - would it bother you if women complimented your "bump?" It also shouldn't matter if you're married, but does it also make a difference if you find the complimentor to be attractive?