to drink for free or not to drink for free

[red_planet]

I went out to a few bars tonight with some girls in my lab because it was one of their birthdays. I realized that I very rarely go to bars without Aaron, and this led me to an ethical dilemma...When is the appropriate time to tell a guy that you have a boyfriend? Do you blurt it out as soon as he introduces himself? I think not. Do you wait

Comments

An Idea

[jabira]

A girl I used to live with (not from Macalester) who had a boyfriend would go out to bars every weekend and make out with random guys she met so that they would supply her with free alcohol all night.... That method would certainly save you money.

Seriously, though, I think it's a difficult question. When I meet new, potential male friends, I always wonder if I should tell them I'm engaged/in a relationship. I don't think there's any harm in accepting a drink or two. Though letting the guy know you're only interested in talking as a "friend" might be appropriate when you accept the drink?

The real answer hinges on whether it's safe to assume that any guy who talks to you is only interested in your body...and if so, if you therefore have an obligation to not make him feel dumb ;-)

...

[luke123]

I'd not accept any drinks, and act uninterested. If he wanted to talk as a friend, then he'd also be buying drinks for some of the guys in the bar he didn't know. Plus, bars are hook-up places... so there's an expectation.

Providing you're doing the first two, then bringing up a boyfriend can be invoked whenever... because you weren't leading them on in the first place they should interpret their chances as slim regardless (hence there's less of a letdown).

Anyway, as you know i'm not much of a bar person... though girls not saying they have a boyfriend till the last minute need not be limited to bars :).