"I feel pretty. Oh so pretty. I feel pretty and witty and..." Some guys would be offended. They're just insecure. I don't see how it's rude.
...Oh yes. I'm just insecure. Never mind the fact that I've had feminine adjectives used on me for the past 25 years..
There are lots of guys I'm super attracted to that I'd definitely classify as 'pretty', so if someone called me pretty I'd love it.
I can see it being rude if it's directed at someone who is trans, but other than that, I don't see it as rude. If there is no negative connotation behind it, I actually find it rude for someone to get mad because of it. Take the compliment, jeez.
I don't like being complimented. Knowing people are staring at me/checking me out is rather disconcerting. If someones call me pretty that means they're looking at me or that they've been looking at me in a manner that would make me uncomfortable. Modern etiquette deems it wrong to say that to a woman, but many guys still do. Why should it be any different to say the same to a man? Unlike some of the others who replied, I don't dislike the word for its association to femininity. Instead, I hate it because getting complimented feels so awkward. I'm proud of my femininity, but I don't care to know how others feel about it. But a bulk of gay culture is innately machismo, and accordingly they abhor being asociated with feminine things, so they'll feel insulted for all the wrong reasons. My male (and female) ego hates compliments. You can call me smart, charming, worldly, inspiring, picturesque, selfless, erudite, and I would dislike that as much as I'd dislike being called pretty. At the risk of offending, I do think an offended reaction to being called pretty because of its link to womanhood is rooted in sexism.
Oh, you know, the whole "suck it up" mentality that all men are expected to follow, lest they want to be compared to women. This answer probably hits closest home for me, since compliments in general unnerve me, either because they seem disingenuous, or I feel too self-conscious to properly accept them at face value. If possible, I'd like to avoid being praised for typical masculine qualities, and have succeeded to a degree so far. And yes, it does irk me when others make blanket statements on gay men, ie "they're more like women than men", when most are just like your "ordinary" straight guy, except that they are attracted to men and not women. A lot of this is rooted in sexism, and even we're not totally exempt from those influences, unfortunately.
I have absolutely no problem with being called pretty. I've been called pretty, cute, handsome, hot ... honestly if someone calls me pretty I will take it as a compliment because usually context denotes that they meant it as such. I am secure enough in myself to not flip out just because our society has deemed "pretty" as equating to effeminate. I believe that there lies a problem in deeming effeminacy bad. If you think of femininity as lesser, then by logical extension you think of gender as a hierarchy... and I can't help but connect deeply rooted misogynist tendencies with that premise. However, that being said some people who identify as masculine may have a problem with the word. It is less about their view on femininity and rather more about their own self-concept. So, tl;dr: it depends on the person and situation. Context is crucial, much like anything we say.
I dream of the day someone calls me pretty Cis-male, strong femme so pretty would be the best thing someone could say to me For now I have to settle for cute Foxface
I love to be told I'm pretty. I don't cross dress but I love it when people come up and tell me my eyes are pretty or just pretty in general.
A compliment should be appreciated regardless if the person used pretty, handsome, sexy etc. I don't see why any guy wouldn't be flattered.
I call some guys pretty..not to their faces though. If someone were to call me pretty I'd get upset, mainly because they'd see me as a pretty woman. If the saw me as a pretty man I probably wouldn't get that upset.
