Reality Bites

One person's funny stereotype is another's…I don't know, total serious reality?

No need here to rehash the specifics of a mild social media dust-up that really drove home the point that the older I get, the less I have in common with others and the importance of having at least one person in your life who gets you. I always thought it was the opposite, that teens are all persecuted and no one understands them and then they go off to college or go off into the world and find their people. That may be, yet now I'm suspecting that there's a dip I guess in middle-age where agreement on what's funny, cool, or whatever superficial attribute you prefer, is harder to come by.

If you're smart and adaptable, though, you can see someone else's stereotype, object, then still get the humor.

On last night's Girls Hannah gets asked out on a date in the break room of the private school where she's now subbing. (The open wound/taking things personally me got sad because who's single for like a week and nice men see your charm in 30 seconds and want to spend more time with you?)

While getting ready for this date she makes fun of dating, which to me was odd because I thought everyone was on Tinder or Hinge or who knows what, and it wasn't an old person's domain. In fact, Tinder has started explicitly rewarding youth.

Hannah: This is so crazy. It's like I'm going on a date? Can you believe that. It's like who even goes on a date who's not fucking 45?

That's not a stereotype I had at all! My first thought was "Oh god, is that me?" My second was, "That's kind of hilarious."

And then a whole riff unfolds.

Elijah: A 45 year old who just got out of a bad divorce.

Hannah: My pilates teacher inspired me to take a chance.

Elijah: Sure, I'm scared. But I've got to take a chance. I don't want to die alone. Not without a fight.

Hannah: I'm still a sexually viable woman.

 

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The newish advice column on The Awl is growing on me, and I'm not just saying that because of this deliciously polarizing anti-child sentiment. This week's was about getting back with a dumper, which anyone rational would say is a horrible idea. That wasn't the advice given. It was a sentence in the final paragraph that was appropriate to my needs, though. "Dating doesn’t really get good until you’re in your 40s it turns out!"

Really? Tell me more.

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Last night Carson asked Mrs. Hughes to marry him on Downton Abbey, and they had never had a date in their lives. Or addressed each other by their first names, I imagine. They did hold hands once at a beach. There was a lot of stilted elder romance on this season and it was awesome.

Pardon me, while I go watch The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel sequel.

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By the way, the above referenced dust-up was due to my making fun of the trope where women wear a man's shirt after sleeping with him.

Next thing, I'll be getting puke-encrusted hate mail from people who vomit when they get upset.

Did you know that awkward urinators were hurt when Rob Lowe pretended to have a shy bladder in a commercial intended to sell satellite services? (And if you like meta outrage, the comment section on the article I just linked to is all about Lena Dunham being a child molester.)

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Personal blogs for the win, people.