Women Share Intrusive Questions They’re Asked That Men Generally Aren’t

There are few things more irritating than being asked questions that clearly overstep your boundaries, especially by strangers, coworkers, or acquaintances who have no reason to know your business. Unfortunately, women have to deal with more of these than most men.

On Reddit, women shared some of the most intrusive and annoying questions they've been asked in public.

Why Should I?

Story Credit: Reddit
Story Credit: Reddit

It's irritating as a woman to have to deal with the social perception that all women should wear makeup and that the choice not to wear it is strange. Just let women do what they want!

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Stop Prying Into People's Love Lives

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Why haven't you gotten married? Or, the more hurtful version... why didn’t anyone want to marry you?
Story Credit: Reddit / Miss_Behavior
Story Credit: Reddit / Miss_Behavior
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There are tons of reasons why someone might not be married: they're focused on their career, they don't believe in the institution of marriage, or any number of other things. It's rude to assume marriage is everyone's life goal or to imply that they're "undesirable" because they're single.

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He's Not Her Father!

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Story Credit: Reddit / IceCreamToiletPaper
Story Credit: Reddit / IceCreamToiletPaper
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Obviously, it's important to consult your significant other on major decisions that affect them, but no spouse should ever have to feel like they need their partner's "permission" to do something.

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I Absolutely Will Not Regret It

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Story Credit: Reddit / not_doing_that
Story Credit: Reddit / not_doing_that
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Most women, when thinking about having children, have to consider how it will affect their career. However, there is nothing wrong with prioritizing your career or choosing not to have children.

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Maybe You're Just Stupid And Annoying, Derek!

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Anytime I get slightly irritated or show any emotion that isn't pure joy, I get hit with,
Story Credit: Reddit / bunnygoats
Story Credit: Reddit / bunnygoats
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Men will throw shouting fits when something goes wrong while on the job, but, for some reason, they still assume any negative emotion a woman expresses is the result of her period.

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Maybe She Doesn't Want To?

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Why don't you color your gray hair? Your face looks too young for gray hair.
Story Credit: Reddit / Sushisando
Story Credit: Reddit / Sushisando
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I hate the idea that women are expected to cover up any signs of aging. The regular upkeep for having dyed hair is exhausting, not to mention expensive. Maybe she just likes her hair as it is.

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This Is Such A Rude Question

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If all my kids are from the same husband. A coworker in a professional industry asked me that; I do not think my kids' dad has ever been asked anything even remotely similar.
Story Credit: Reddit / itsalloriginal
Story Credit: Reddit / itsalloriginal
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First of all, it is none of your business who was behind the conception of your coworker's child. Second of all, it is none of your business who was behind the conception of your coworker's child.

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I Hate All Of This

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Story Credit: Reddit / leslienooope
Story Credit: Reddit / leslienooope
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I feel like it's just a faux pas to talk about someone's weight at all, especially unprovoked. Also, it's so disrespectful to assume someone will have more children or imply they should.

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Your Face Is About To Be Depressed By My Fist

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Story Credit: Reddit / Amnesiachick
Story Credit: Reddit / Amnesiachick
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Being a woman is hard because people will make rude comments about you if you frequently wear makeup or they think you wear too much, but they will also make rude comments when you don't wear makeup.

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Not All Of Us Want To Be In Relationships We Hate, Barbara

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Story Credit: Reddit / Miss_Behavior
Story Credit: Reddit / Miss_Behavior
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Repeat after me: not everyone wants to be in a relationship or get married, not everyone is willing to settle for a partner they aren't truly compatible with, and not every woman wants to date a man.

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Why Don't You Shut Up More?

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Story Credit: Reddit / missshrimptoast
Story Credit: Reddit / missshrimptoast
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For some reason, some random men think it's their divine right to walk around and tell women that they should smile more, even if they're simply trying to grocery shop.

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It's Also His Child...

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Whenever I'm without my kids, people ask if their dad is
Story Credit: Reddit / MILisacunt
Story Credit: Reddit / MILisacunt
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When I finally become the dictator of the world, I'm going to make an official law that makes it illegal to call a man caring for his own child "babysitting" and have the offense be punishable by death.

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Sorry For Being A Human

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Story Credit: Reddit / knevalina
Story Credit: Reddit / knevalina
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Women's bodies are so closely examined and scrutinized by those around them in ways men never have to deal with. We're supposed to be perfectly plucked, shaved, and hairless as a baby, and it's the worst.

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Stop Bringing Women's Personal Lives Into Their Work

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When I was pregnant, I was asked if it
Story Credit: Reddit / airlii
Story Credit: Reddit / airlii
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The circumstances under which someone decides to have children should never be brought up at work, especially in the form of unsolicited questions from coworkers. She's already probably physically uncomfortable from being pregnant, but you're trying to make her uncomfortable socially as well?

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Yeah, Being Able To See Is Pretty Nice

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Story Credit: Reddit
Story Credit: Reddit
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Glasses aren't something someone just puts on for fun every day—they are necessary to be able to, I don't know, see and exist. Suggesting someone get contacts to "look better" is straight-up insulting.

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You Would Never Ask A Man This

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Firefighter here. Patients will ask me,
Story Credit: Reddit / fruitsnacks4614
Story Credit: Reddit / fruitsnacks4614
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Women in physically demanding and dangerous jobs are often expected to abandon their careers so that their children don't lose a mother, but people never say that fathers need to give up their careers for their children.

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I Literally Do Not Care About His Opinion

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Story Credit: Reddit / a-little-sleepy
Story Credit: Reddit / a-little-sleepy
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Women are constantly asked about their male counterpart's opinion of their choices: it can even be as simple as getting a new haircut or having a girls' night out. Why do we expect women to need men's approval?

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This Is So Creepy

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I've been asked if I live alone by the cable guy and furniture deliverer. Driving a few miles upstate to visit a friend, the gas station clerk asked if I was driving alone. It weirds me out.
Story Credit: Reddit
Story Credit: Reddit
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Of course, not every man who asks questions like these has malicious intent, but some definitely do. It instantly makes women feel unsafe and uncomfortable regardless of the man's intentions, so stop.

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Weird Ask, Dude

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If I have a boyfriend, and strangely, how old is he?
Story Credit: Reddit / hrhcarson
Story Credit: Reddit / hrhcarson
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Why do people think it's totally normal to ask women about their relationships and pry into the details? Also, why does the age matter enough for you to ask about it?

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Different Types Of Women Face Different Questions

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Being asked about why I don't straighten my hair or wear it down. I suspect it’s because I’m black and work in a sea of white men and women who think letting my hair down is as simple as 1,2,3.
Story Credit: Reddit / bye_felipe
Story Credit: Reddit / bye_felipe
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Of course, no article could ever cover the irritating and invasive questions all women are asked, because, like everyone, women have a bunch of different characteristics such as age, sexual preferences, race. All women deserve to speak out against the sexism they face.