So, what are your interests or what do you do for fun?

[th3vault]

Originally Posted by nuala

Interesting warpage that shows up again and again. The society expects from 20 years olds with good brains to establish life/career first, and that means having kids in your 30s-late 30s-40s. Yet the image of a 40-60 year old woman nearly always gets warped into a traditional grandma image.

As an "oldie" pushing 50, I have elementary school kids.

Love straightening car frames, roughing out panels, prep/painting.
Love welding.
Love working with fiberglass.

That doesn't preclude me from loving gardening, knitting, reading, gobbling up all unconventional/art/foreign movies.

And what is happening in the land of muscle building, - besides muscle building?

To be fair I think bodybuilding/muscle building and fashion/hair/cosmetics are equivalent for their respective genders. Those are the primary ways to increase physical attractiveness for their respective genders, and most men do some bodybuilding and most women do some fashion/hair/cosmetics. Of course seriously pursuing either can become a hobby in and of itself.

[orangeapple]

Originally Posted by LaoTzuMindFu

Point is, in first dates, women tend to think more of trying to say something to impress the guy instead of just being honest.

Because you can read women's minds?

I think some people are just caught off-guard with questions like that. It's easy to answer online because you have time to think & type. In person, you get about 2 seconds to respond. If you've never outlined your hobbies to yourself before, then it would be easy to draw a blank.

Originally Posted by srjth

I have a different opinion. I'd much rather someone say "Tell me about you", "What's your story?", or "What are you doing (or thinking about) right now?" than those questions, or even talk about a specific nonthreatening topic and ask for their thoughts.

I can't stand those questions. "My story"? I'd be thinking: "I'm supposed to tell you my life story now? Are you my therapist? Am I supposed to deliver you a bildungsroman, a la David Copperfield?"

I prefer specific questions which encourage back-and-forth dialogue....otherwise, you're asking me to just ramble aimlessly about myself. I wouldn't even know where to start with a question like that... "I was born in 1983...".

Originally Posted by th3vault

To be fair I think bodybuilding/muscle building and fashion/hair/cosmetics are equivalent for their respective genders. Those are the primary ways to increase physical attractiveness for their respective genders, and most men do some bodybuilding and most women do some fashion/hair/cosmetics. Of course seriously pursuing either can become a hobby in and of itself.

I don't think these are about attractiveness when they become hobbies.
A lot of men (and women) who are into bodybuilding say they are into it to see "how far" they can take their body. I think it's a way of exploring their physical capabilities.

As a woman into fashion, it's not about attractiveness at all. A lot of what I like to look at is quite avant garde, stuff that many men wouldn't "get". I also like to experiment with quirky looks for myself (although I still stay within the realm of appropriate for most settings). It's artistic - playing with shapes, color, textures, proportions, etc. It's just a way to be creative.

[ho hey!]

Originally Posted by LaoTzuMindFu

I think for WOMEN, this is a very tough question to answer, while for guys, its the start of a lengthy conversation of all that is great in this world.

Seriously? Not to me it is. I love these kind of questions, better than "what are you afraid of?"

I think a lot of women dont have any interests or if they do, they probably wouldnt answer honestly for fear that it would not "impress" the guy... but really younger women, what would YOU say to this question?

What do I tell them? It's not a life or death situation. I like to go for long walks, read books, check out cafes, flea market, travel, play with kids, and try to get involve in sports and exercise (usually I fail at this part). I'm hoping to expand it to cooking class, artsy class, and whatever I like.

Women, how would you honestly answer this question if asked by a guy on your first date?

Uh, I just tell it how it is. No need to be someone I'm not.