Sometimes a nod is just a nod.

When I was in college, the uptick of the head described here was just a form of acknowledgement used by men in general. I picked it up for awhile and the world did not end. Maybe the guys I nodded to would say differently, but I doubt it. While nodding may have originated in a subculture, I think it's expanded in use to encompass more than just out-groups and has become just another way to say "hey." Calling it a manifestation of entitlement or an alternative to a sexualized form of greeting really throws me. What sexualized but inoffensive forms of greeting are in common use? Is a smile necessarily sexualized? Please. Only in America would people be offended because they weren't smiled at.