Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Socially Acceptable Questions that Should Not be Socially Acceptable

Over the past few years, I've come to realize that there are several questions that are considered "small talk" that are really deeply personal questions and are potentially offensive* depending on the frame of mind of the person that is being asked.  These questions change depending on life stage:

  • To a single person, "Are you seeing anyone?": As a shy and nerdy teenager, I dreaded this question.  I didn't need a reminder that I wasn't in a relationship.  It implies a pressure that I needed to have a boyfriend.  Other reasons this question is not appropriate:
    • What if the relationship is fairly new and I don't want to talk about it yet?
    • What if I just broke up with someone?
    • What if I'm gay but not completely out?
    • What if I'm comfortable being single?
  • To a couple that is dating, "When are you getting married?":  Matthew and I got this question about 5 months in to our relationship from the stepfather of one of my friends.  I hadn't seen this man in over four years at that point.  Again, this question implies pressure that can strain the relationship.
  • To a childless married couple, "When are you going to have kids?":  This is the one that bothered me the most.  For one thing, I remained in this life stage the longest of my adult life so far, so there was a lot of opportunity for this question to come up from all sorts of people.  After seven years of marriage, I was well aware that we didn't have children.  For us, it was mostly a choice, but for many other people, there are painful fertility and/or relationship issues that are the reason.  Also, some people just don't want children, so asking "When are you going to have kids?" instead of "Do you plan on having children?" is a subtle form of judgement.  Furthermore, while seven years of marriage is a longer than average time to stay childless, thirty-one years old is not abnormal for a first pregnancy for a woman with a career in this day and age.  Yes, we were married a long time before we started multiplying, but we also got married pretty young.
  • To a pregnant woman, "Was this planned?":  WHAT?????  I'm still shocked that people asked me this.  I don't think this needs any further explanation.
A runner up for this list is "How are you feeling?" to a pregnant woman.  It's not offensive, so it doesn't make the actual list, but I had no idea how often I would get asked this.  I admit, before I got pregnant, I would ask this as a way of starting a conversation, but I will not do that any more!

I'm sure this list will continue growing in the years to come.  I'm (not actually) looking forward to:
  • Are you going to breastfeed?
  • When are you going to have another child?
  • Are you going to keep trying for a (girl/boy)?
  • When are you going to quit having children?
What questions have you been asked innocently that you felt you shouldn't have to answer?



*If you are a close friend or relative and the setting is right, it's ok to ask these questions, once in a while...not every time we see or talk to each other.  If you are an acquaintance, coworker, etc., DO NOT ASK THESE QUESTIONS!

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