Significant Other
In today's evermore "politically correct" society, this month's QuestionMan
interview subject is frequently found on party invitations to help ensure all relationship
bases are covered.
QuestionMan: Don't you find your appellation rather
nondescript?
Significant Other: Indeed I do, but that's what I'm all about or, to be
more imprecise, what I'm not all about.
QM: OK, I'll bite. What are you talking about?
SO: Well, the more exact the title applied to me by uncertain
third parties, the more likely the error. Years ago, way back in the time of the nuclear
family, a couple extending an invitation for a social evening could be reasonably
confident that a woman could be asked to bring her husband, or vice-versa, without fear of
committing a faux pas. That's rarely the case any more.
QM: I see what you're saying, but couldn't people
simply be invited to bring their boyfriends or girlfriends?
SO: Oh, no. That simply won't do at all. In the first place,
"boy" and "girl" no longer are good fits for persons who are dating
well beyond their teen and young adult years. Second, those words are gender-specific,
which is an assumption the politically correct can no longer safely make.
QM: All right, how about inviting someone to bring
a "guest"?
SO: Well, that would cover the age and sex questions, but it
doesn't give the hosts a clear idea of who might be attending. Will this "guest"
be a casual acquaintance, a longtime platonic friend, a live-in lover? Not knowing can
lead to some awkward situations during dinner conversation.
QM: I give up. It seems that "Significant
Other" is the only safe route to take these days.
SO: Not as safe as you might think. In this rapidly expanding
world of fetishism and alternative (but politically correct) lifestyles, a
"Significant Other" may no longer be a human being. I don't know about you, but
playing the role of a pushbroom dressed in latex and leather is too much of a stretch,
even for me; although it could serve as a basis for an interesting remake of "Guess
Who's Coming to Dinner."
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