Search Results: subtle hints for guys

In a comment to another question, I asked (sort of jokingly) why questions on this site often involve a female who wants to "say something without saying it". To me, it seems like women should feel free to be direct (and knowing how oblivious guys can be, it seems that this would be a better way for a girl to get what she wants). But the responses were along the lines of "girls are expected to wait to be approached by guys" and "men should be manly men and take all the initiative". This from both a girl and a guy commenting. So now I wonder, is my outlook wrong? Should girls wait for guys to approach them, or at most only hint at being interested in subtle ways? Is this what society has taught women to do? Is it right? I always thought it was fine for women to be as aggressive as they want to be, but like I said the responses I got here surprised me... so now I wonder if I am wrong about this. I'll be the first to admit I am biased here but I'll try to make the options neutral. Just interested in what the general feeling about this is.