You have met many girls who refuse to tell you their age. I have met many girls who refuse to tell me their age. “Age is just a number,” they chant in unison but it appears that this number is somehow inversely tied to their self-worth.
Now, it’s not that I am nosey that’s why I ask people’s age, regardless of men or women. Personally, I feel that I have a valid reason for asking (and that I ask regardless of men or women shows how indiscriminate I am). Knowing a person’s age gives me an idea how I can interact with this person and facilitates the process. It’s the same as knowing a person’s interests, or what time a person wakes up (although I hardly ask that). But that’s a personal opinion. For example, if you’re 32 like I am, there’s a better chance we’ve watched the same TV shows, liked the same singers, used the same English textbooks (note that textbooks changed to PET for those born in 1984 and later), and probably ate the same snacks. If I know you’re 18, I don’t have to make you listen to my retirement plans. If I know you’re 55, I could possibly seek some life advice. That’s why I don’t ask people’s weight because it offers no value to me, unless I know you used to be 40 kg and are now 60. In which case, I would like to hear about your weight gain secrets.
I somehow feel that the idea of “a woman’s age is secret” stemmed from some crappy TV show or movie and then every woman decided that their age is secret too. If you realised, that show or movie actually taught you to be ashamed about your age. It taught you to lower your self-worth as you age.
Try asking the girls who refused to tell you their age why they are keeping it a secret. Chance is, they don’t have any valid reasons. Their reason is usually, “I don’t want to tell” or they’d respond with a question like “Why do you want to know?”
When I saw 吉田羊 (Yoshida Yo) on a talk show say that they can ask her anything but her age, I had assumed she probably doesn’t have a sound reason either. But when the hosts asked her why, the reason she gave surprised me. Not because it was an odd or shocking reason, but because it was the first time I heard a valid answer, I was nodding away fully convinced. As an actress, she wants the producers to pick her from her appearance on the roles she can play instead of from her age. Need I say more?
To the ones who think “It’s my privacy, I don’t have to tell you if I don’t want to,” all I can say is, I agree.
Its not that girls don’t have a valid reason, its just that they are afraid of being judged.
If u put two girls together, equally pretty, seated side by side, and all the guys in the room knew that one is 25, while the other is 32- guess which girl will be approached more frequently by the guys?
When their ages are not revealed, it is more likely for both girls to be treated equally. Of course, the younger a girl is, the more likely that she will reveal her age more willingly to you. (Knowing that she is younger than you also helps)
That’s a good reason!
I’ve never held back telling people about my age but I always ask them to guess. It’s really more fun that way.
i’ve unwittingly offended people before even though i already shaved 3 years off my guess. don’t like guessing.
A good way is to ask would be the number of years that she has been working in the society. Do some math and It would help you to gauge more easily…
E.g. A girl who has more than 10 years of working experience is unlikely to be younger than 30.
I think this would be more appropriate and less intrusive, if its truly essential for you to know her age.
you see, i’m actually a really hard person to offend. i guess you’ve just shown me that i can’t try this with other women. lol.