done before or would like to do. Now of course what people say and what people do are sometimes two very different scenarios, meaning that many of those who claimed that they would be comfortable with dining on their lonesome in reality they may not. However some of the women I asked had actually already gone to dinner by themselves. One person managed to shed some clarity on the situation: "I eat at home all the time," she said, "so why not out?" My sister also explained that she'd been to a Chinese buffet by herself. Aware that people might actually judge them, some imposed conditions on the situation if they were to find themselves alone in a restaurant. For example, they would only do this if it were in a "continental-relaxed-sit-outside-kind-of\\... or if the food was so good they'd be distracted away from the awkwardness. This I can understand; the chances of going for a pub lunch by myself is anorexically slim. In all, dinner alone was seen as a liberating, enlightening and socially defiant act. Some may think I am underestimating women's ability to be un-reliant and self-sufficient, or reducing us woman to insecure beings. Not at all. The way I see it is sometimes the smallest things that we are faced with in life cause us to question the way we perceive ourselves. Are we really as independent as we'd like to believe? I fear for the sake of woman-kind that I'd agree with a friend of