# Why shouldn't a man ask a woman her age???? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 20, 2000, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-shouldnt-a-man-ask-a-woman-her-age/26299 "2000-07-20T23:43:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-shouldnt-a-man-ask-a-woman-her-age/26299/21 "2000-07-21T16:37:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mangeorge \* > 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. \*\* HA! Why do men lie about how much they can lift? Or what size waist jeans they wear? And what about those guys who buy the “large” condoms - oh yeah, I’m sure there’s lots of guys buying the ones in the “average” or “small” boxes too.:rolleyes: My opinion is just that asking someone’s age is a personal question that is none of anyone’s business, just like: How much do you make? What did you pay for your house? How much do you weigh? Can I feel your pregnant stomach? You **are** pregnant, aren’t you? Did you plan to have X number of children? So, who’s the father? Rude, all of them. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2000, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-shouldnt-a-man-ask-a-woman-her-age/26299/22 "2000-07-22T04:25:03Z")
I don’t know, I think that it could, potentially, give women one more thing to brag about. I once saw an ad in a magazine for some skin care product, you know, the ones where they show some model and her real age, to show how well their cream works. Well, this one, I looked at the picture, and thought, “Whoa, this woman looks like she’s 50!”. Then I read the tagline, and she was 102. Now, if a person looks like they’re fifty, they’ll look like 50 no matter what they say their real age is. On the other hand, to actually be 102 years old, and look fifty, well, that’s doing pretty well. In other words, if a woman’s going to lie about her age, she may as well inflate the number, not decrease it. ---
**Author:** ![Tracie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/90db22/32.png) [@Tracie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracie)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2000, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-shouldnt-a-man-ask-a-woman-her-age/26299/23 "2000-07-22T04:41:37Z")
I’m 31… I wear a size 7.5 shoe… That wasn’t so bad. I have no idea why it’s a big deal. Don’t you DARE ask me how much I weigh though. :mad: GRRRRR :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Anti\_Pro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Anti\_Pro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anti_Pro)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2000, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-shouldnt-a-man-ask-a-woman-her-age/26299/24 "2000-07-22T04:44:26Z")
Women lie about what they’ve been taught, either consciously or subconsciously, that they have something to be ashamed of, which is EXACTLY the same reason MEN lie! It’s good to see you posting \*\* mangeorge! \*\* If the real reason you’d like to know a person’s age online is conversational topics, then rather than asking questions that could offend, just start writing about your own interests, if she can carry the ‘conversation’, great. If not, why keep ‘talking’?? ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2000, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-shouldnt-a-man-ask-a-woman-her-age/26299/25 "2000-07-22T05:46:39Z")
55 Size 13 225 lbs 5’ 9" Ugly as sin. Lazy as a rock. Intellegent, but uneducated. Single, impossible to live with. What’s to lie about? Ok, there _is_ that one little thing… 😃 Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2000, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-shouldnt-a-man-ask-a-woman-her-age/26299/26 "2000-07-22T05:54:13Z")
Age ain’t nothing but a number. That said, I’m 17, and my shoe size is 10 [my feet are proportionate to the rest of my tall body]. No comment on weight, though. I see no reason to tell or know. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2000, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-shouldnt-a-man-ask-a-woman-her-age/26299/27 "2000-07-22T06:39:07Z")
Why shouldn’t a man ask a woman her age? 'Cause if you do, she won’t let you into her knickers, that’s for damn sure… ---
**Author:** ![Catrandom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@Catrandom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catrandom)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2000, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-shouldnt-a-man-ask-a-woman-her-age/26299/28 "2000-07-22T06:49:27Z")
The best guess you can make by looking at someone seems adequate for every social purpose. I suppose if you’re engaged, it’s probably not an unreasonable question. Catrandom, 37 but looks … 37 ---
**Author:** ![Feynn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@Feynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feynn)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2000, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-shouldnt-a-man-ask-a-woman-her-age/26299/29 "2000-07-22T07:05:38Z")
Lola is pretty happy when people think she is younger than she is. She is downright joyful when she gets ID’d when she buys cigarettes. And she is going to be mmmmmmffffffttttt! Like I want to get murdered for telling her age… ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2000, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-shouldnt-a-man-ask-a-woman-her-age/26299/30 "2000-07-22T21:06:10Z")
Well, if you know her name & state she is born in, you can find her birth record free on the net. I only look up California but the other states should also be online. Then you can find out how old she is 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2000, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-shouldnt-a-man-ask-a-woman-her-age/26299/31 "2000-07-22T22:37:38Z")
Oops, I think you may have went a little too far there, **handy**. Just try getting a date with one of the women who read your post! 😉 Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![brachyrhynchos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brachyrhynchos/32/376_2.png) [@brachyrhynchos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brachyrhynchos)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2000, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-shouldnt-a-man-ask-a-woman-her-age/26299/32 "2000-07-22T23:18:44Z")
The age thing doesn’t bother me - I’m 44, no big deal. Most of the women I know that are my age have no problem with it either. The shoe thing does bother me. At 5 foot 9, I wear a size 10. It’s proportional to my height, but back in the Pleistocene (high school) when I started wearing heels, it was difficult to find women’s shoes in anything larger than a 9. I felt like a gawky, awkward freak that had to go to speciality stores to find ANYTHING to fit on my (perceived) big clodhoppers. Nowdays it much easier and some shoes actually have a sense of style. But I still cringe if shoe size works its way into a conversation. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2000, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-shouldnt-a-man-ask-a-woman-her-age/26299/33 "2000-07-23T15:54:19Z")
Its been a long time since I have looked at a womans shoes. I did read once that you can tell a lot about someone if you look at their shoes because that is the one area most people don’t pay attention to. So, sharp shoes, sharp person. "How much do you make? What did you pay for your house? How much do you weigh? Can I feel your pregnant stomach? You are pregnant, aren’t you? Did you plan to have X number of children? So, who’s the father? " Most, if not all, of those things, unlike age, you can’t tell by looking at someone. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-shouldnt-a-man-ask-a-woman-her-age/26299.md?page=1)