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Ask HN: I’m 41 and still unmarried – what should I do?

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Re: Ask HN: I’m 41 and still unmarried – what should I do?

#721

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So he complimented you, and you twisted it such that he implied you're a whore instead? Interesting.

It's called "negging", and manipulators use this tactic all the time. Most commonly against women. Gross is an understatement for this breed of human.

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Re: Ask HN: I’m 41 and still unmarried – what should I do?

#722

> I’ve deeply invested myself in therapy, support groups, meditation, dating coaching, yoga and hypnotism. I’ve known plenty of my female friends who were so aggressively “fixing” and improving themselves, that they even didn’t notice how big their ego had become. Their whole life was revolving around Me Me Me, I want to be perfect, I want a perfect marriage, I want a perfect husband, I am perfect, I I I… It’s hard t…

Wow. Some of these comments are SO harsh. Ow.

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Re: Ask HN: I’m 41 and still unmarried – what should I do?

#723

I really appreciate the honest feedback everyone has given on this post. Some of it was hard to hear, but all of it enlightening. And I appreciate the generosity of the community in the time they took to engage in this issue. I do want to address one last thing before giving this post a rest. A lot of people on this post have made conjectures about my reproductive health and ability to have children at the age of 41.…

I hope you’ll chat with a few friends about why you decided to write this to the few remaining stragglers.

I should do the same though I know why I’m a mess :)

Your response is heartfelt. It misconstrues the point many were making. None of us know the details of your fertility. We don’t know anything more about you than what you say. The points about your fertility were about its perception not about its reality. You seem like the sort of person who tries to avoid making quick judgments based on stereotypes. Most aren’t like that.

Re: Ask HN: I’m 41 and still unmarried – what should I do?

#724

I really appreciate the honest feedback everyone has given on this post. Some of it was hard to hear, but all of it enlightening. And I appreciate the generosity of the community in the time they took to engage in this issue. I do want to address one last thing before giving this post a rest. A lot of people on this post have made conjectures about my reproductive health and ability to have children at the age of 41.…

No post body was provided.

Re: Ask HN: I’m 41 and still unmarried – what should I do?

#725

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“ I understand why you wanted the focus to be more generic.” Actually I wanted the focus to be more specific- on how individuals had solved this problem for themselves, rather than on giving me generic advice.

Huh! That makes sense. And is also confusing. It’s not problem solving; it’s reading stories from which you might glean some combination of hope and a technique or two to mimic. If I wanted to solicit stories like that, I’d tend to post on Reddit rather than HN and ask something like, “How did those of you who went on dozens or even a hundred dates with little success find a life partner?”

Great idea! I'm going to try this! I'll let you know how it goes:)

Re: Ask HN: I’m 41 and still unmarried – what should I do?

#726

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And I like really sweet, super nerdy guys:)

Out of the 120, how many were sweet and super nerdy? What was their second date rate? Along a different dimension, what indicia of nerdiness appeal to you? This comment along with your reactions suggests a theory. Let's see if it validates :)

I liked the fact that they were outliers. Attractive men who didn't know that they were attractive. And appreciated and saw my intelligence. And socially awkward, so I felt I had something to bring to the relationship and that I wouldn't have to compete too hard for them, like they'd be nicely tucked behind their computer away from other women to steal from me. And very data-driven, scientific-minded, so I felt confident their caring meant something - and that they were honest, not manipulative. And that my ability to present myself well and emotional intelligence was something of value to them, that they admired.

Re: Ask HN: I’m 41 and still unmarried – what should I do?

#727

Your experience suggests you can solve your problem in one of two ways: Figure out how to interest the attractive men in commitment; figure out how to feel attraction to someone who will commit. It might help to analyze what makes you feel attracted to someone. What were the moments, characteristics, or sensations that inspired you to conclude you were attracted to that 10%?

I can't really tell you this because I fear it will make me look extremely judgmental. I think that there are many men in this thread who have felt a lot of pain being rejected by woman and take my comments personally.

However, I will say that for the 10%, there was nothing that extremely bothered me, that they were fine (nice-looking enough, smart enough, good listener enough, nothing mind-blowing - not looking for super models or master conversationalists). If I felt I could tolerate them for a second date, I'd go on one.

Re: Ask HN: I’m 41 and still unmarried – what should I do?

#728

Your experience suggests you can solve your problem in one of two ways: Figure out how to interest the attractive men in commitment; figure out how to feel attraction to someone who will commit. It might help to analyze what makes you feel attracted to someone. What were the moments, characteristics, or sensations that inspired you to conclude you were attracted to that 10%?

When I first read your comments, I felt almost sure that you were someone I already knew, one of my mentors. But then you mentioned you were younger than me, so that got me curious about who you are:) You're very insightful, much wiser than your years it seems. If you ever feel like revealing yourself, I'd love to speak to you about the product I'm building (not my love life), because it seems like you are acutely intelligent and really know the right questions to ask. You're honest, but in a gentle way. Anyway, you know where to find me:) No pressure.

Re: Ask HN: I’m 41 and still unmarried – what should I do?

#729

I really appreciate the honest feedback everyone has given on this post. Some of it was hard to hear, but all of it enlightening. And I appreciate the generosity of the community in the time they took to engage in this issue. I do want to address one last thing before giving this post a rest. A lot of people on this post have made conjectures about my reproductive health and ability to have children at the age of 41.…

I hope you’ll chat with a few friends about why you decided to write this to the few remaining stragglers. I should do the same though I know why I’m a mess :) Your response is heartfelt. It misconstrues the point many were making. None of us know the details of your fertility. We don’t know anything more about you than what you say. The points about your fertility were about its perception not about its reality. You…

I believe it touches on an important political issue. I feel that this country is very very divided. It's important we discuss these matters in our own community and not just yell and point fingers at the other side. This was bothering me. I feel men try to control women's bodies all the time. And diagnosing my fertility, I do believe, is a subtle way of trying to control my body, even if it isn't Clarence Thomas overturning Roe V Wade. Perhaps if I speak my peace, others will think twice before they make an assumption about an individual woman's body and assume they know better than her. It may have misconstrued some, but others were very very blatant in their beliefs about women's fertility in general - which I would argue, clearly had nothing to do with this post.

Re: Ask HN: I’m 41 and still unmarried – what should I do?

#730

I really appreciate the honest feedback everyone has given on this post. Some of it was hard to hear, but all of it enlightening. And I appreciate the generosity of the community in the time they took to engage in this issue. I do want to address one last thing before giving this post a rest. A lot of people on this post have made conjectures about my reproductive health and ability to have children at the age of 41.…

I hope you’ll chat with a few friends about why you decided to write this to the few remaining stragglers. I should do the same though I know why I’m a mess :) Your response is heartfelt. It misconstrues the point many were making. None of us know the details of your fertility. We don’t know anything more about you than what you say. The points about your fertility were about its perception not about its reality. You…

I talked to a couple friends.

Most are women.

Many laughed at me posting this on a forum dominated by men in their twenties.

As not the best place to get advice on this issue.

I, however, have found it interesting.

I will argue with you though. If you look at the language, many people on this people volunteered their facts about my fertility without any expression that it was a perception, but just a fact.

I will add that the moderators have been incredibly vigilant in deleting and flagging some of the more misogynistic comments that have been posted here including one that said, "your baby will definitely be abnormal"

I feel and I have always felt that it's easy to point fingers at Trump for saying "grab them by the pussy" in a van, but it's harder to address misogyny in your own community and treat the people who are being misogynistic as human beings. That starts by expressing your own humanity and seeing theirs.

These people can continue to go around telling women in their forties that they are infertile and act like they know better than a doctor, or maybe the next time they meet a woman like me, they will pause and see that might be hurtful, and be more curious instead of volunteering these unsolicited "Facts" about her body.

These are random musings.

However, the most important thing about writing that answer was that I needed to stand up for myself.

And express why this bothered me so much.

I know my body better than the people in this forum. The comments made me doubt that a couple times. I needed to stand up for myself.

I felt better.

Thanks for asking.

Also, I am not a mess. I'm sorry if you feel you are. You don't seem like a mess, but you know yourself best :) Good luck to you.

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