Mmm. Perhaps it's haughty of me to do it this way, but the way I usually avoid eye contact up north: keep my eyes up and completely ignore everyone. It looks less timid/victimish than keeping the eyes down. I don't know that it makes a difference in the amount of attention, but it makes a difference in what kind of attention I get - men feel challenged by it, and challenge me in return, but they mostly act like I *should* feel like a victim, instead of assuming that I *am*.

Living in the south is, in some ways, a little easier. I know who to make eye contact with and largely how to do it. I even smile or nod acknowledgment sometimes. But I shouldn't walk alone after dark, and the racial profiling I've defaulted to is upsetting.