Woman just wanted to enjoy her solo dinner in peace. But a stranger kept pushing, then asked if she was ‘one of those feminist types’

A woman who went out to eat alone said she was interrupted by a man who questioned her decision to dine by herself, according to a video she posted on Instagram. Cesarina, who posts under the handle @itscesarsdaughter, said the man told her that women who eat alone are simply seeking attention from men. The exchange, which she described in detail online, ended after she asked him a single question that he could not answer.

Cesarina said in her Instagram video that she had gone out by herself to enjoy a meal and a drink when the man approached her. She said he opened the conversation by telling her, “you know, women like you, y’all bother me.”

She said she responded politely at first, telling him, “Well, I’m sorry to hear that, sir. I hope you have a wonderful night.” According to her account, the man was not satisfied with her response and pressed her further, asking why she had come to the restaurant alone.

The stranger reportedly claimed solo dining is about seeking attention

Cesarina said she explained her reasoning simply, telling him, “Well, this is a restaurant. They have food, they have beverages. I was hungry and thirsty, so I went to the restaurant to eat.” Despite this, she said the man continued questioning her choice. Unwanted commentary about how women eat alone has become a recurring theme online, as seen in another woman’s viral fork-holding debate.

According to Cesarina, the man then said, “I just feel like women that go out alone are just attention seekers. You just want men to approach you.” She said she was taken aback by the comment and asked him, “I’m sorry, what?”

Cesarina said the man went on to tell her, “You’re a pretty girl, you don’t have to go out alone, but here you are. Why would you do that?” She said she again pointed to her earlier explanation, telling him she had simply been hungry and had come to a restaurant to eat.

She said the man then suggested she should have ordered food and taken it home instead of eating at the restaurant by herself. Cesarina said she asked him directly whether he would question a man in the same way for eating alone, though she did not say in her video whether he answered that question.

The conversation reportedly took a different turn when the man asked Cesarina if she was “one of those feminist types.” She said she responded, “Yes. Are you not?” According to her account, he replied that a man could not be a feminist, prompting her to ask him if he knew what feminism meant. She said in her video that this appeared to end the exchange. Other women have similarly described shutting down a stranger’s advances with a single pointed response.

Cesarina said she chose not to continue arguing with the man because she did not want the situation to escalate. In her video, she said, “I did not bother this time to really get into it because I didn’t want to have to slap the s–t out of somebody.” She said the encounter left her upset enough that she lost her appetite for the rest of the meal.

Cesarina said what bothered her most was not the man’s opinion itself, but his assumption that she could not simply be enjoying a meal on her own. She noted that he had approached her despite apparently being annoyed by his own theory about women eating alone. In her video, she referred to the man as a “dummy” and said, “You just couldn’t see me eating my food comfortably and happily without feeling the need to interrupt it.”

Research published in the International Journal of Hospitality Management has found that fear of being judged by others can significantly reduce a person’s willingness to eat at a restaurant alone. The same research indicated that dining alone can be just as enjoyable as dining with others, according to the study’s findings.

Cesarina’s video drew a range of reactions from viewers in the comments section. One commenter wrote, “You gave me a good idea from now on whenever I see a man alone I’m doing the same thing.”

Another commenter described a personal method for avoiding similar situations, writing, “When I go to restaurants often I put a desk sign with one word, NO. waiter laughs every time but I never get approached.” Other viewers expressed disbelief at the encounter. One wrote, “Imagine going up to someone and asking them why theyre eating??, lmao thats insane.”

Some commenters offered lighthearted suggestions for future encounters, with one writing, “Hear me out. Start barking at these things,” and another saying, “Would act like Im deaf and started sign language with him.”

Several commenters focused on the broader pattern the video seemed to touch on. One asked, “Why do men think that EVERYTHING women do is FOR THEM???” while another wrote, “Men can’t accept that we don’t need or want them.”