3 Harmless Questions You Might Ask That Are Actually Harmful
I’ve asked them too.
When I used to go to Al-Anon meetings, I marveled at how I didn’t know what almost anyone I met did for a living. Nobody asked. It was the type of environment where profession wasn’t centered. You’d only find out by happenstance because someone mentioned it in passing.
It always amazed me that no one asked “What do you do?” since this is usually one of the first questions people ask each other when they meet. While this isn’t one of the questions I’ll go into detail in this article, it does have classist connotations. Asking this question can risk making others feel insecure if they don’t work in a space deemed to be “professional,” and it can alienate those who are unemployed or stay-at-home parents.
People ask some questions as a social norm, but social norms are to be questioned. Here are a three questions people often ask that are problematic.
1. What do you want to be when you grow up?
This question is asked quite often by adults to children. And while it seems like a fun question to ask, it can put a lot of pressure on a kid, especially as they grow older. We live in a world where interests, hobbies, and ideas get professionalized and commodified. And oftentimes, this makes the things…
