A few new men have joined the ranks of our Wise Guys! They’ve all answered the following question: “What’s the best way for a woman to ask a guy out?” Meet half of them below, then tune in next Tuesday to meet the rest!
Married Bisexual Guy (Bryan Sebeck): It’s not as simple as it sounds, but be direct, confident, and unambiguous. First, guys are pretty terrible at reading subtext. Unless you’re pretty blunt with us, we won’t notice that you’re actually asking us out because we’re too busy trying to figure out the best way to ask you out. You don’t need to hit us over the head with the obvious stick to get your point across, but you’ll need to be a little more direct than you think you ought to be. Second: guys love confident women. The problem is that there is a fine line between confident and intimidating. The intimidating thing works with some guys (I have a thing for women who can beat me up), but stick with just confident unless you know him very well. Smile, make eye contact, and be honest. If you’re a bit nervous, it’s ok. Welcome to the club, ladies. This is how men feel every time we even consider talking to a woman. Lastly, be unambiguous. Most guys aren’t big fans of the words “some time.” If you suggest a specific date, or even time period, you’ll be ahead of the pack. Try “I’d like to go to dinner with you next week.” Dinner is a horrible date, but that’s a whole different question to answer.
Single Straight Guy (Megan): I met Beth for the first time in a friend’s dorm room while in college. A few of us were waiting for her so we could all drive down to a party in Austin, Texas. She showed up wearing blue jeans, a green t-shirt, and plaid Doc Martens. She had pale skin, a light dusting of freckles and dark, red hair. She was an English major and a smart-ass. I liked her immediately. Plus, she brought some dope. That meant everybody in the dorm room liked her, too. Once we were in the car and en route, we all started talking about upcoming movies we wanted to see: “Immortal Beloved,” “Pulp Fiction,” and “Quiz Show” were the popular ones on that ride. Beth started talking about “Crooklyn.” I told her what I thought about Spike Lee. Boom. There it was. Just like that. She turned around in the passenger seat to face me and two other people in the backseat and said, “Hey, wanna go on a date?” Straight-up, honest, direct and confident. That’s how you do it. No games. No fuss. No potential for misinterpretation. No fear. Men need women to be direct. Always. You want me to take out the trash? Just ask me. You want me to buy groceries? Just ask me. You want me to go on a date with you? Don’t give me signs. Just ask me. (Bonus points if it’s in front of friends. Serious bonus points.)
Committed Gay Guy (Dwayne): Well, in my limited experience, when you first meet a guy you have sex and then decide if you want to go on a date with him. I’m pretty sure that doesn’t happen often in the world of straight dating. I’m a bit of a old-school traditionalist, so I would say that a woman should give her phone number to a potential date, to show interest, and then let him call her to make plans.
Single Straight Guy (Saad): Two things to do when asking a guy out: 1) Be direct and 2) Get out of the way. What you want is one-on-one time with him. Be direct when you ask for it, e.g., “Let’s have a beer together.” If you’ve already experienced some sparks, that’s all you have to say. If you haven’t had much previous contact, you might want to justify lightly — something like “I thought your poem/article/iPhone app was cool!” Once you’re together, you can gently indicate your romantic interest, but I say “get out of the way” because men are wired to make the first move. If his interest in you grows, and he has got a clue, he will recognize your interest and act on the mutual attraction.
Our “wise guys” are a rotating group of contributors, some of whom wish to remain anonymous and some of whom like the attention. This week’s Married Bisexual Guy is Bryan Sebeck, a newlywed engineer and artist working in Detroit, MI who blogs at A Yooper Steampunk; our Committed Gay Guy is Dwayne Resnick, a mid-20th-century decorative arts dealer in NY’s Hudson Valley; and our Single Straight Guys are The Meeglet blogger Megan, a former librarian whose Men of the Stacks calendar benefits the It Gets Better Project, and Saad Hasan, who works on nanotechnology with a team in Pennsylvania. To ask the guys your own question, click here.
