Just Order What You Want - Please!

Ann Althouse dissects an article in the NY Times Style section describing a sad state of affairs (in the most literal sense). Women, it seems, especially those doomed to date in Manhattan, are now forcing themselves to order steak while out on dates. Not because they want steak, but because they want to send a specific message to the guys they're out with: I'm not a picky pain in the ass.

Except, as Althouse and her commenters point out - YES YOU ARE! The second you start constructing your meal based on what you want it to convey about you, you're thinking too hard about it. And when you're thinking too hard, you're not being yourself. And when you're not being yourself on purpose, well, doesn't that doom the relationship from the beginning?

Granted, I've never lived in New York, and the dating stories I've heard from friends who have lived there make it seem like a not very nice place to meet someone. But it seems to me that no matter where you live, if you're the kind of person who would go out of her way to construct a "desirable" persona, then you probably are exactly the type of overanalytical, annoying girl that guys try to avoid. And the thing is, by constructing that persona, you're this close to admitting that you know that your actual personality is an annoying one. So why not just admit it, then transfer the energy you'd waste becoming Miss Steak-Eater into actually becoming a less grating person to begin with?

This whole concept just gets on my nerves. I'm afraid I can imagine the girls who do this just a little too well...