She Dines Out Alone, Is Just Fine, Thanks

Callie Hitchcock is a woman who dines out alone frequently, and she has a pet peeve about the experience. In a New York Times essay, she writes that well-meaning people—chefs, fellow diners, wait staff, etc.—often give her either unmistakable looks of pity or salutations of the "you go girl" variety. Both are sometimes accompanied by free drinks or desserts. Hitchcock understands the impulse—"the sight of a woman dining alone can still feel unusual"—but makes a plea that people stop projecting:

• "Those are generous impulses, friendly ones. But friendly or not, it's part of a broader infantilization, a reduction of women to a repository for gendered fears and fantasies. And when I'm eating alone, I don't want to be a symbol—righteous or not. I'm just there to read my book, have a middling steak au poivre and drink my free champagne in peace." (Read the full essay.)