Erica Berman: 12 Things You Should Never Ask a Woman. Any woman struggling with infertility or who has experienced a miscarriage has probably had to deal with her fair share of stupid comments and reactions from others.
Some people just seem to completely lack any tact when it comes to the issue of fertility and think it is their business to comment and judge, while others are well-meaning but simply do not know what to say. Even women who have never faced infertility are often subjected to thoughtless comments about her body. It seems no woman in her 20s, 30s or even 40s -- not even celebrities -- can have a belly bulge the size of a grape without someone speculating she is pregnant. It's enough to give even the most emaciated supermodel a body image complex! So I thought I would put together a little guide for all of you out there regarding what is and is not appropriate to say to a woman about her body or her fertility. 1. Here are some of the reasons why: 2. 3. 4. Melanie Notkin: Fertility: What Not to Say to Single Women Who Long to Be Moms. We all know that going through infertility treatments can be incredibly challenging for couples.
But single women who yearn to be mothers go through their own heartache. They are waiting for their future life partner to come into their lives before they can even begin to try to conceive. While their infertility is circumstantial, it can be just as difficult as each month passes. But because their grief is not commonly understood, it's often brushed aside with comments that, while are often meant to help, are hurtful.
This column will change your life: the language police. 'The debate about how far language ought to be allowed to evolve is an old one.' Illustration: Adam Howling for the Guardian Think of the word "atrocity", and certain appalling behaviours spring to mind.
Add "barbaric", and the picture gets worse. How about a barbaric atrocity that's "detestable" and provokes "horror"? At this point, it's surely time for a UN intervention. This is the topic of The Phenomenology of Error, a fascinating paper published 30 years ago by the linguist Joseph Williams, recently highlighted on the blog Lingua Franca. A clue to the answer, he suggests, lies in the curious frequency with which the critics of "bad" English make the very errors they despise. So why adopt error-hunting mindset? What can go wrong when you stay at someone's house. Judith Newman explains all the reasons why she would rather stay home than stay with a friend.
Judith Newman lists the many ways things can go wrong when you stay with peopleNewman believes she suffers from 'an overabundance of politeness'Newman would rather spend time with friends and family then sleep at a hotel (RealSimple.com) -- "I am leaving," I murmured to my husband. George Washington's Rules of Civility : The Colonial Williamsburg Official History Site - adrianep905. Hillary St. Pierre: Things to Never Do When Someone Tells You They Have Cancer. The first time someone uttered the words, "You still have hope" in response to my cancer, I almost slapped them.
When an RN said these words -- meant to comfort me -- I raged. I was planning on a little more than hope. But their mistake isn't unique. With cancer becoming more prevalent and people living longer and healthier, the sick are now venturing into society more, encountering acquaintances in social situations. Miss Manners never addressed how to handle the news someone you barely know has a life-threatening disease with etiquette in five-minute small talk. 1. 2. Keli Goff: The 5 Questions We All Ask That Are Absolutely None of Our Business. Last week I ran into one of my TV buddies in a greenroom.
I hadn't seen him in nearly a year, since we last appeared on a television program together. We did the sort of catching up that we do with those we haven't seen in a while. 6 Habits of Remarkably Likeable People. When you meet someone, after, "What do you do?
" Lisa Mirza Grotts: Family Etiquette. 18 common phrases to avoid in conversation. Making new friends as an adult. Be careful not to "overshare" personal stories when you're meeting a potential new friend.
After a certain age, it may seem more difficult to make new friendsThe author has an encounter with a new friend where they both "overshare"Like a romantic relationship, oversharing in the beginning can end things before they begin (Oprah.com) -- There's war going on my refrigerator. In the lower right-hand drawer, we keep our lunch meat and cheese. Among the slightly moldy hunks of Cheddar, the wedges of dried, ancient Parmesan, the deflated skins of scooped-out Brie, lies a cheap plastic bag of cheese sticks. For those of you in the world who remain innocent of cheese sticks, allow me to digress. My kids, of course, love them. Oprah.com: Cherish your friends Then begins his lecture: "A big ball of homemade mozzarella costs the same, gives you two or three times the cheese and actually tastes like cheese! "