Taryn wrote:Hello! I'm sorry to bring up such an old thread, but I was just linked to this thread and decided to join.
I can't speak for other North American women, but I can say with absolute confidence that I'm not like the woman in this article. New York women in general are complete bitches (that's putting it nicely); they do NOT know how to smile if it was to save their lives; they are ALWAYS in a hurry, and all of these attributes typically come with any geographical location with a large population (and not just in the US). They also tend to have no sense of humor whatsoever.
On the other hand, sometimes when someone asks you what you do for a living, it's usually a sign that they have nothing better to talk about, which means they're boring and you should probably run. As fast as you can. Do. Not. Look. Back. I hate small talk.
I grew up in a fairly small town in Indiana and I'd like to think my parents raised me on more values than concerning myself with the monetary value of a human being. A good percentage of people (not just women) concern themselves with these types of things, as though it is the determinant factor for being a decent person.
I personally do not like being asked what I do for a living. It's not that I'm embarrassed by what I do, but I, like the person who wrote this article, feel like it's some sort of determination of character from that person. My ex-boyfriend asked me what I did for a living very early on in the courting process, and it should've been a sign that I should've run away.
If someone tells me what they do for a living, it's typically because they tell me by their own free will, not because they are hounded by me. Any time I go out on a date, I typically make a fool of myself by making jokes and yes, I even offer to pay for half of the bill (if we go to dinner).
Of course, the reason I put myself in a completely different category than these people is because I don't really identify with US women in general and therefore I keep to myself. Personality has always been number 1 for me, followed by intelligence. Those have always been the top two most important things, then if a person is attractive, that's just a bonus. I have dated both attractive and unattractive men in the span of my dating life.
Superficiality is unfortunately commonplace in the United States.
On another note, it does take a little bit of a process to get me in bed. This is not because I'm a prude, but given my current geographical location and the percentage of sexually transmitted diseases in this area, I generally like to play it safe in that department. Not to mention, 80% of the [date-able] people near me are meth addicts and I like to live a fairly clean life.
I definitely can sympathize with the guy in the article. Hell, I was dumped by an American man because I dropped out of law school to become an artist. Oh well, you can't win everyone over.
No issue with women asking what you do for a living. Could be curious, could be general talk. If a woman wants to find a man, get married, stay at home for 10 years and have kids, she better find a guy that can handle this. Over the years, in social settings, d bag guys always ask me, so what do you do?
99% of the time they are sizing me up in a group setting in front of my date or GF, trying to downgrade me. I say good question, why do you ask, or I
say adult entertainment with a straight face. This happened with a new date when we go out with her friends.