Note from the Director: The next seven blog posts will feature a range of issues from Rebecca Traister’s All the Single Ladies. Students in Dr. Lake’s semester’s LIB 100 “Reflect, Connect, Engage” course have curated content from across the web in order to explore how social media frames various issues surrounding various chapters from the Community Read-All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation.
The Center for Women and Gender Equity will continue to post information and events from all the Social Justice Centers that will allow for discourse to further complicate some of the issues identified from an intersectional lens and I invite you to get involved whenever possible or to stop into the Center to engage in conversations as well. Happy reading and talking, Jessica Jennrich, CWGE Director
As much as people try to deny it, single women are taking over. Whether it is remaining single throughout their lifetime or marrying later in life, women are becoming more career driven and upholding male dominate jobs.
What is being a single woman?
This image puts a humorous perspective on the fact that women can do the impossible. This woman has a hard job of not only being an executive but also a single mother. The way she is thriving in this picture proves that she is happy the way she is living life. Therefore, no women should be underestimated because there is so much in this world that everyone can accomplish alone.
NY Mag Calls The Single American Woman The Most Powerful Voter This Year
This image is making a LARGE statement. It is an image of a woman’s hand putting up her ring finger as if it was her middle finger. Where a ring should be placed, it says “Single Women Are Now the Most Potent Political Force In America.” This is beneficial to our project because New York Magazine is a very popular magazine that many people read. This means that the message of equality towards single women is being broadcasted to large population of people.
NowUKnow: Why Millennials Refuse to Get Married
The Radical Power Of American Single Women
What does society think?
This above tweet is an example of how much of a struggle it is to live as an independent single women. It appears to be that people do not view women as capable or strong enough to live on their own. Although this isn’t directly what people are saying, many women feel this way and that is a problem. Even though a woman is not married, she still needs to earn an income.
This is an image from TIME Magazine that shows what is important to our generation. The image on the right side said “The ME ME ME Generation”. This is significant because a lot of older generations feel that millennials are narcissists, and are only focusing on ourselves. Millenials are more focused on saving money and doing things to forward their career. At the end of the image it says “Why They’ll Save Us All”. This is encouraging because it shows that some people are rooting for millenials and their new way of life.
IMAGE: Who Is Mr Clean®? | Mr Clean
I felt this image related to our chapter because I thought it was somewhat ironic. The usual stereotype for cleaning product advertisement is a woman and her kids, so why a man? Maybe, the joint effort of split roles in marriage sprouted the new idea to use a man that cleans “tough” spots, or is it another way of saying a woman can’t get the job done properly? Either way this advertisement hits two topics in our chapter about single women and marriage.
No Can Do Ladies, Dr. Pepper Ten Is For Men
What are the benefits?
15 Little Reasons To Be Thankful For Being Relationship-Free
In this post, Huffington post asked bloggers to list a reason why they enjoy being single. Many of the answers included that they could focus on their career and doing what they want. I find this sad because people should be lifting each other up and encouraging each other to accomplish their goals. However, onen blogger stated that it feels good to accomplish things on their own. I think this is very important because as humans we should all learn to be independent before committing ourselves to one person for the rest of our lives.
Why more women choose not to marry
Even though this is an opinion based news article, I feel it is very beneficial in explaining possible reasons why women avoid marrying at a young age or even at all. It can be hard for society to understand why marriage rates are falling, causing singleness to be frowned upon. This article is beneficial because with more publicity on very possible reasons to avoid marrying, it may become more acceptable in our world today.
Single Women Are Crushing the Entrepreneurial Game (and You Can, Too)
Fox news has this article posted on their website about how single women are quickly moving up the ladder in entrepreneurship. Now there is this idea of women drawn to the thought of being their own boss and not being stuck in a specific gender role. It is believed that this “trend” will increase over time. Entrepreneurship is viewed as a flexible way for single women with children to make money and still tend to their offspring.
The normalization:
The Economist states that “single women are reshaping America from marriage to politics to the economy.” Many women are marrying later and later in their life while the divorce rates are simultaneously dropping. They say it is important to live a happy single life before you marry the person you want to be with your whole life. Women are also becoming more demanding with making men evolve into stay at home dads.
When women work alongside men, they are recognized as capable human beings who are independent and smart. As this tweet states, women are progressing in society and moving up in the world of business. However, he also states that even a women in her own home can be independent. It is important to realize that just because a woman does not have a high paying job, doesn’t mean she is not able.
Nicki Minaj confirms split from Meek Mill after nearly two years
This tweet from Nicki Minaj is extremely important, because a lot of young women look up to her today and the fact that she is openly posting about the benefits of being single is a big deal. She is very powerful in the media world and can create a large impact on the minds of young women. By encouraging working on herself, she is showing women that it is normal to want to pursue your own career before settling down with a man.
Women Today Are Rejecting Traditional Dating Standards More Than Ever
This OkCupid news article is VERY important, because it is laying out some statistics of just how “normal” being single is becoming. It discusses the ways in which women are gaining confidence due to their singleness and how beneficial that is to their futures. This reminds of of The Allegory of the Cave from Reflect, Connect, and Engage, because the confidence that women are gaining in being single can be compared to the breaking of the chains society places on women that restricted them in the first place.
This tweet talks about how marriage is a choice. We don’t feel the need to get married before we’re 30 years old now. There are a lot of other things millenials is focusing on that is not marriage. This tweet emphasizes how marriage is a choice and not something we have to do anymore, unlike the old days.
How is this all affecting young women today?
This above tweet is from a well known twitter page called “The Single Woman.” This specific tweet is an important mentality for all people to have. A significant other should be encouraging and not make someone feel bad only because they may make more or work more hours. It would make me very sad and disappointed if a woman or man quit their job and stopped doing what they love only because their significant other felt lesser than them.
Millennials are killing marriage – here’s why that’s a good thing
This news source talks about how millennials are killing marriage. A lot are getting married later in life and some are not getting married all together. Even if people are refusing to get married, they all feel like they are in healthy relationships. People also feel that they are more financially stable than the generations that came before them. The article touches upon the fact that our generation has a lot of student debt, and are more worried about getting rid of that than buying things like houses.
The big changes to marriage in America
CNN talks about how the age of marriage is being pushed back and women are staying single longer. The image of women being single is viewed by others in a way to improve their own relationships. Research has shown that single women live a happier and healthier life than those who are in a relationship or married. Even though a woman isn’t married it doesn’t make her any less of a woman than one who is married.
Created by: Team 9 on Wakelet
GVSU Feminist Voices 