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Comment by prepend | Hacker News Reader

I play this game as well but call it “daughter or prostitute.”

It’s pretty common to see old dudes with young women. I’ve rarely been able to actually find the answer.

The few times I’ve gone to fancy resorts or expensive areas, I’ve always seen couples like this. Only a few times did I see more than one woman.

I worked for a ceo once who always had a much younger (25 vs 65) assistant in the building.

I don’t think I would change my behavior if some rich guy had two models in tow for business meetings. I might assume they are prostitutes, but as long as they aren’t children I don’t know what action I would take.

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If you have rarely been able to actually find the answer, why do you assume prostitute? Sounds rather misogynist to me.

I’m not sure how it’s misogynist. It’s a people watching activity that’s just a pastime. Similar to trying to tell narratives about people sitting near us in a cafe. Just because I’ll never know if someone really is a traveling archaeologist smuggling artifacts doesn’t mean I don’t derive pleasure in thinking through the thought.

In the particular game of “prostitute or daughter” (also sometimes prostitute or son, although much less common) we try to pick apart clues that might inform the guess. Places we’ve seen them. Actions toward each other. Actions when apart. Etc etc.

Misogynist: because you tend to assume negative things about women.

> I’m not sure how it’s misogynist.

The assumptions about the dichotomy in the potential roles of women underlying the game are literally a textbook example of misogynist gender images.

I certainly don’t see that those are the only roles for women. But in a situation there it’s a 70 year old man/woman with a 25 year old who is not their spouse, I think those are the most likely options. The game also includes being able to rule out other relationship types just based on observation.

It’s also worth noting that these aren’t absolute characterizations but probabilistic. In no part of the game am I making some belief that the young women must be one or the other. But sadly/comically usually old rich dudes with young women who aren’t their daughter and they are acting romantically, it’s usually a prostitute, hopefully a consenting one.

It’s quite possible that I’m wrong in that maybe they’re married without rings or whatnot, but there’s no harm as they don’t know I’m going through this thought exercise, and I’ll rarely know if I guess right.

> But in a situation there it’s a 70 year old man/woman with a 25 year old who is not their spouse, I think those are the most likely options.

Sure you do, and while it is not particularly plausible that those would be the most probable—even from the categories of “family members” and “people doing their job by being there”—it is a perfect example of the Virgin-Whore mindset.

The game is daughter or prostitute so “family members” is half the game. Determining whether they are platonic, non-family acquaintances is part of the fun.

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