DEAR MISS MANNERS: A few years ago, I was riding my motorcycle and pulled into a parking lot. I noticed a woman coming out of a coffee shop and pausing to look at me. Yes, I looked at her for a brief second as I parked. I then pulled out my phone and looked up my destination, still sitting on my bike.
This woman came up to me and said hi. I said hi back, and then she proceeded to ask me if I could take off my helmet -- she said she wanted to see how old I was because the helmet always throws her off. I thought, “You have some nerve!”
I wonder what you would think, Miss Manners, if I walked up to your car window and knocked and said, “Hi, could you roll down your window so I can see if you’re pretty or young enough for me?” I bet that would go very well.
This isn’t the only incident that I have experienced with brazen women, but it is the most egregious.
Dating in the U.S. is one-sided. The average woman has 100 messages in her dating apps and the average guy has seven. It truly is a woman’s world and us average guys are left feeling like we are on display, or like we are back in elementary school, hoping someone will pick us in a game of Red Rover, but never getting picked.
Please advise me where I can find a woman who values the content of my character more than the beauty that I have, which is only skin-deep.
GENTLE READER: The argument that this is a woman’s world -- and that men are only regarded for their looks -- is not going to gain much traction, Miss Manners is afraid. Nor make you any more popular.
However, it is true that no human, of any gender, should be treated as you describe. In your situation, you might have said, “I beg your pardon? My helmet is on for my own protection” and left the impertinent woman to ponder from what -- or whom -- you were actually being protected.