It used to be even worse

[supergee]

How department stores allowed women to appear in public

Thanx to Metafilter

Comments

[lavendertook]

I eat alone at restaurants all the time, and have gotten used to the strange looks or comments from waitstaff about it, though it has lessened a great deal in the last decade. I don't know if it is a gendered thing, or if men got the same looks and comments or not. I have heard many women comment that they don't like to eat out alone. Meal time is happy reading time for me.