I wonder if this is a bit generational and/or dependent on sub-culture. I'm 51, and I know that my aunts and uncles would absolutely flip over the idea of either me having a guy over for dinner while my husband was away or him having a woman over for dinner while I was.
There was a considerable to-do twenty years ago when a male friend drove me to visit my grandparents after my grandfather was diagnosed with terminal cancer. (My husband couldn't get time off of work, I can't drive, and getting there by bus takes 10 hours longer than driving does.) Everything became okay once they discovered that the male friend played cards with my husband every week so that he was my husband's friend (from their POV) rather than mine and was doing my husband a favor.
It hadn't occurred to me, my husband, or our friend that it would be an issue, but I suspect that, for a fair percentage of the people I went to high school with, this would still be a big deal. Not necessarily because of mistrust in the relationships but because of local gossip. I haven't lived in a small town in decades, but the size of the community changes things.
It might be as much about the neighbor making judgy comments at the grocery store as about the event itself. Which is a completely different sort of thing to be sensitive about.
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There was a considerable to-do twenty years ago when a male friend drove me to visit my grandparents after my grandfather was diagnosed with terminal cancer. (My husband couldn't get time off of work, I can't drive, and getting there by bus takes 10 hours longer than driving does.) Everything became okay once they discovered that the male friend played cards with my husband every week so that he was my husband's friend (from their POV) rather than mine and was doing my husband a favor.
It hadn't occurred to me, my husband, or our friend that it would be an issue, but I suspect that, for a fair percentage of the people I went to high school with, this would still be a big deal. Not necessarily because of mistrust in the relationships but because of local gossip. I haven't lived in a small town in decades, but the size of the community changes things.
It might be as much about the neighbor making judgy comments at the grocery store as about the event itself. Which is a completely different sort of thing to be sensitive about.