It’s not like you can’t tell by looking at her. Anyway, in April I thought I’d waited long enough on this great social mystery & asked a lady that question, 'Why shouldn’t a man ask a woman her age?". She said, 'Cy ask me my age." I said, “okay, how old are you?” she said “63”. shrug. sigh…maybe I should have asked here first?
Because our society seems to think of growing old as some kind of failure, instead of the accomplishment that it really is. And it’s most certainly not only women who are self-conscious about their age.
Peace,
mangeorge (55, still alive 
0
Few of my relatives have ever had a problem with it. I see no reason not to admit you’ve got life experience.
So my answer is: I have no clue. However, I am not a woman, so I don’t know.
That’s one of those universal things that almost never has a right answer. If you’re lucky you’ll ask someone not sensitive about it. If you ask and she replies with “how old do you think I am?” you are doomed homeboy. it doesn’t matter if the woman is eight years old or eighty you had better beat feet out of there.
Well, unless you are a bartender or a liquor store clerk there really isn’t any polite reason why you would need to know.
1: Why the hell do you care (unless you are worried about statutory (sp?) rape)?
2: If it’s really important to you, check the hands. That clue is seldom false. Asking her is pushy, at best.
Feel free to ask, I have no problem admitting… 37 and getting better every day!
Well of course. A woman doesn’t even start to reach her peak until 37
All of the above.
For some stupid reason, our youth culture is still harder on women than it is on men. “Women get old; men just get more distinguished”, etc.
That said, asking age is tacky. It’s just another label, and it’s rude. It’s like asking how much someone makes, or their religion.
It’s just too easy to make convenient assumptions by false categories. Young=ditzy, old=stodgy, etc. Hey, it’s hard enough for people of any age, condition, persuasion, etc. to be seen for who they are without passively accepting tidy little slots.
I glory in my age and life experience, but accepting numbers as valid carries too many assumptions. I’ve met too many wise, funny, stable very young people–and completely immature older people–to have the least faith in false categories.
Sheesh! What that a pompous little tirade! Oh well, it’s all true.
Veb
Sheesh, Veb. Only an old hag would say shit like that 
runs for his life
You shouldn’t ask because some women take offense if they don’t know you well. WHY they take offense is a question for a sociologist.
In my experience, which has included talking to a lot of people and having to ask their ages, most women under 30 or so don’t mind telling. If I have to ask a woman who looks older than 35 her age, I usually tell them I need to know, then guess a number 8-10 years less than they look. They’re usually flattered and just tell me their real age without a fuss. It’s sneaky, but it works!
Why do so many women lie about their shoe size? Most women that I’ve known will squeeze their #9’s into a #6 1/2, if at all possible. I’ll bet that more women lie about their shoe size than about their age.
No Al Bundy references, please.
Peace,
mangeorge
Good to see you back safe and sound Sue. You’re 37? Never would have guessed it.
We’re looking forward to those pics whenever you have them ready…
Why would you want to know? How many women walk up to a man and ask him his age, weight, etc? It seems that only men harbor this curiousity.
I think that maybe it’s because society associates beauty with age. The majority of your models are 14 to 21. And as much as women shouldn’t do it, they do try to pattern themselves in the mold that society fits them in…the model pattern.
My age is a number, but it’s also a state of mind.
I agree that there aren’t too many reasons for asking anyone their age. It is sorta tacky.
Our society demands that women appear young. Makeup, hair dye, etc., all contribute to that facade. Asking a woman her age is a subtle, perhaps unintended hint that she didn’t manage the subterfuge well enough.
OTOH, I once heard a suave guy on TV say that you can ask a woman’s age without offending her by saying you only wish to know at what age a woman is her most beautiful.
Smarmy, but in a suave way.
I don’t know why women get offended or lie when asked their age. There’s something about growing old that terrifies women. I don’t understand it. My mom doesn’t like to tell people her age and I don’t know why. She’s 55 but looks like she’s 45… she looks good for her age. (that’s an expression she hates!) When I turned 25 she said that she was going to stop telling people how old I was because it was making her look old!
The funniest thing happened to me the other day. I was leaving my house to pick up my kids from the babysitter and this lady was going around the neighborhood passing out political fliers (you know, vote for so-and-so) and she asked me, “Are you the daughter?”
“What?” I said.
“Do you live here?” She asked.
“Yes.” I said.
“Are you old enough to vote?” She asked.
I started laughing and told her that I was. She just handed me the flier and went on her way. I just thought it was really funny that she would ask me if I was old enough to vote since I’m 25. I don’t think I look that young!
Yes, there IS something about growing older that terrifies women, myself included. Look at what the media is shoving down our throats - adds for “age defying” makeup (of course, being peddled by some 20 year old), hair color, the really popular TV shows among men (Baywatch, etc.) and let’s not forget porn (but that’s another rant altogether so I’ll drop it now.)
Oh yeah - the ever prevalent “trophy wife” or “younger mistress” popularized on TV. Seems to me that I’ve been force fed 34 years of “You are not good (read pretty, skinny, young) enough”. No freaking wonder I’m neurotic.
So, drain, if I saw a woman who was 12 I should say, gee you look like you are 2 years old?
I like to know how old someone is online or in person, but mostly online, because I want to know what generational stuff to talk to them about.
I’ve never had a problem with a man asking me my age. I’m 34 and getting better every day.
Merlot-1966
It was a good year
I don’t mind people asking my age, because I look a lot younger than I really am. I am going to be 31 in a few weeks. But go look at my pic on the People Pages. That pic is only 7 months old. I figure I can still pass for about 25 or so. I don’t mind admitting my shoe size either, 5.
I am absoutely terrified of growing old though. So far the only sign of aging is a cluster of about 15 grey hairs. I am constantly on the lookout for wrinkles. I don’t plan on aging gracefully. I’m going to fight it every step of the way!