Commentary

What Men Don't Want

So Lisa, from Waco, Texas, is manning the 2007 Media Conference survey site courtesy of Houston-based Touchpoll, right outside the entrance to the exhibit hall. And from her vantage point, she's hit on a postmodern consumer truth, which we all need so bad, as you know. The survey begins by asking some basic demographic questions, the most problematic of which, it seems, is the one about age. Which does not bother the gender you think it would. When I balked about giving my age, Lisa and her comrade on survey duty, Phyllis, had to ask. "Why are all the men complaining about that question?" To which Phyllis added, "women just lie about it."
5 comments about "What Men Don't Want".
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  1. Lee Kendall, March 2, 2007 at 3:50 p.m.

    Women are vain and always want to be younger than they really are. As for me, a manly man, I'm facing fewer years ahead of me than behind me and mortality is creeping up on me in the most evil of ways. I don't want to be reminded that my time is getting short. My mind is still young and healthy and, from my inner eyes, I'm still a young man, not one who's on the wrong side of 60 and part of a demographic that no longer matters to advertisers! EVEN THOUGH I still buy stuff like TVs, computers, music, movies, and gadgets.

  2. Susan Koutalakis, March 2, 2007 at 4:08 p.m.

    SO true! Speaking from the fact that I'm a woman. The best thing is people always guess that I'm younger than I am so that's good.

  3. Joshua Chasin, March 2, 2007 at 4:22 p.m.

    Before answering this question,I need to know: is Lisa young and pretty? If yes, that retty much explains the phenomenon.

  4. Louis Schuyler from louschuyler.com, March 2, 2007 at 4:23 p.m.

    As a freelancer, I don’t have many problems with age discrimination. When it happens I can have fun with it. Recently, a local company who wanted copywriting work contacted me. It turns out that they were really looking for an employee.
    I agreed to meet and when I got there, the young girl who met me was stumbling all over herself trying to be nice. I sensed that she hadn’t expected someone my age to come in. I guess I sound younger on the phone.
    I let her off the hook by telling her that I didn’t have an opening for new work for at least three months. Her look of relief almost caused me to burst out laughing.

  5. Amy Peck, March 5, 2007 at 1:30 p.m.

    Just like size....age matters, despite the kindler, gentler rumours to the contrary. This is equally true for men as well as women, but for quite different reasons.
    We live in an ageist society and there is simply no cure. But as an optimist (and coincidentally someone not in her twenties) I still believe there are benefits on both sides of the 30-something fence. Age and guile still have a key place even in the faced paced world of new media. And while the fresh-out-of-college ideology, exuberance and street cred are appealing, if I am handing over any kind of budget, I want to know there is at least one old fart on the team.

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