Men are often perceived as cunning when their behavior appears more calculating and focused on achieving personal goals than on openness and sincerity in communication.

Calculated Connections

Men are often perceived as cunning when their behavior appears more calculating and focused on achieving personal goals than on openness and sincerity in communication. This approach is demonstrated by a tendency to avoid direct emotional closeness: a man might prefer to seek a “smart” way out even when a simple, honest answer would be more natural. In turn, this changes the nature of interpersonal relationships, sometimes turning them into a kind of exchange of benefits, where distrust and secrecy become obstacles to genuine connection.

One example of such behavior is provided in the following excerpt:
"When he speaks, he never makes eye contact with his conversational partner; if he promises something, it means he has already found a ‘smart’ way out. And where no one can discern what is going on, he is sure to contrive or devise something. He knows little about ‘business’; he speaks of business acumen only with irony. The main thing for him is the deal — not just in a single transaction, which is completely natural, but in life in general: he is not ‘diligent,’ he is merely a ‘careerist’." (source: link txt)

Thus, such behavior is perceived as cunning because the man places deals and strategy above sincerity. This also affects interpersonal relationships: when relationships become an arena for the constant calculation of interests, it is difficult to create the atmosphere of trust and sincerity needed for deep and lasting connections.