Taylor: Chinese Takeout and the Single Girl

I'm highly affected by what I see/do/think about before I go to sleep at night. It's a bit of childish psychosis that I wish would change, but for now, it's something I often have to consider if I want a restful evening. It's one reason why I prefer not to watch horror films. After seeing one of the Scream movies, I had nightmares that someone in one of those masks was trying to kill me. Once or twice would have been manageable, but that dream recurred over a period of about a month. Since my normal television watching agenda includes plenty of death - lately it's CSI and Deadliest Catch - I end up watching a fair amount of outwardly sappy shit right before I go to sleep. Romantic comedies? Bring 'em on.

To relieve myself from one day's dose of television death, I turned to Kissing Jessica Stein before bedtime. It's not a particularly great movie, but it will always have a special place in my heart for giving me the term "sexy ugly" (but that's another post for another time). As I snuggled into bed and set the sleep timer on the TV, the movie went into the "she's so lonely" scene, where Jessica came home to a messy but nice (and completely unreal for NYC, by the by) apartment. This involved the standard single girl refrigerator shot: nothing except a Chinese food carton. Right then it occurred to me: How in the hell did the "single girls' refrigerators are all empty except for Chinese takeout" idea become a stereotype? Even this video - which I find hilarious - does it. So when and why did it start? And are there single women who actually eat like that?

I have a few logistical items to pick with whoever started this movie trend (and I'm going to guess it was a man). As an example, we'll use myself and my roommates. One of my roommates is in one of those long running "It's Complicated" relationships and the other has been in a committed relationship for a little over a year. And yours truly? Freer than "Freebird." I would like to note that I am a New Yorker and absolutely qualify as a busy woman - the kind that, in a movie producer's eyes, would be a prime candidate for empty fridges and Chinese food ordering.

Examining our fridge on a regular basis, just under half of the things in there are mine, and at least one fourth of the things that belong to my roommates are either a) expired or b) things they're never going to eat. If we're going to do this right, we should examine cupboards as well, and my dry food? Takes up two cupboards. Each of my other roommates has one. I can safely say that in a contest of total in-house food ownership, I'd probably take it. I might even have as much as the two of them combined. (Except in rare cases, like when one of them decides to cook for their SO, or prepares food for a party or something.) What can I say, I like to cook. A lot.

That knocks off the "empty" part of the stereotype. Now, as to the takeout.

Personally, I don't like Chinese food, so let's change Chinese takeout to takeout in general. Of course, if we want to expand this like I did before, it should include meals outside of the house, sit down style.

On average, I go out to eat about once or twice a week, usually on the weekends. On average, one of my roommates beats this in about half the time, and the other probably matches it. One of them is an aspiring foodie, so she and her SO go out for dinner about three times a week, generally at very nice places. My other roommate cooks a lot for her and her SO, but they go for an out of the house meal from time to time, probably just a hair more often than I do.

On the other hand, for takeout meals both roommates win. In the past week, we've had two versions of takeout leftovers in our fridge (one set Chinese, the other set Thai), both belonging to my roommates. The last time I ordered takeout was when I wanted sushi for lunch while watching a Salman Rushdie documentary - which was, according to Netflix, back in June.

I'm sure that, in part, the takeout stereotype stems from assuming that no one wants to go sit in a restaurant by themselves, and I have a slight bone to pick with that, as well. Firstly, single women have friends. They likely even hang out with these friends more frequently than those in a relationships. The catching up with a friend dinner is a pretty big staple in my life - in fact, I'm going on one tonight. Secondly, I don't have a problem with eating by myself in a restaurant. The pathos of worrying what people are going to think about someone alone in a restaurant is awful and ridiculous. Treating oneself to a nice sit down meal can be an incredibly freeing experience, much like going to movies or concerts alone. You don't have to worry about waiting for anyone else or considering what someone else wants to eat/see/listen to. Some of the best dining experiences I've had have been when flying solo. Because you're alone, waiters are much more attentive, and the food arrives more quickly.

The takeout trend might also stem from the idea that single girls are going on so many dates that they never eat at home, and that doesn't really hold water, either. Even the people I know with the most active dative lives aren't eating out every single night.

So, single ladies, I'm curious, does the only Chinese takeout in the fridge movie stereotype resemble your eating habits?

And if any movie buffs can shed light on this stereotype, please do.