How different being a single woman is today than it was 60 years ago. In the 1950’s single women were given titles like “old maid” or “spinster” and considered by society as being crazy recluses. It seemed the entire goal for women of that time was to settle down, get married and have two or three children. The women at that time were personified in the media by characters like Harriet Nelson and June Cleaver. A woman’s sole purpose back then was to stay home and tend to their husbands, children and homes. Women who strayed outside those lines by remaining single were often ostracized and ridiculed.
There were some amazing single women who were the exception to the rule and who paved the way for the single women of today to achieve the great promise that they have. There were activists like Susan B. Anthony, a prominent civil rights leader in the late 19th to the early 20th century. There were great leaders such as Queen Elizabeth I of England from the 16th century who in addition to being a monarch was also a poet and a writer. She had many suitors but never married. There were artists like Mary Cassatt, an Impressionist artist from the mid-19th to the early 20th century. She was one of the few female Impressionists. Most women, however, were content to take a back seat and, although they were the rock their family’s foundation rested on, were seldom recognized outside the home.
What a difference 60 years makes! Today, 50% or more of women are single. Many women are opting to remain single and not, as was once thought, because they can’t find a husband. Instead, they remain single because they enjoy their independence. They enjoy being the arbiters of their own destiny without having to consult with others about every decision they make. It is a truly liberating time to be female. Single women today are at the helm of international enterprises, leaders in science and academics and pillars of their communities. There are single mothers today who manage to be full time workers, full time mothers and all around super women. No longer is the single woman an oddity, instead she has found her place in the world and demands the respect of the world around her.
This is not to say that being a single woman is all wine and roses. Any human being who lives alone experiences feelings of loneliness at times. It can be difficult during life’s emergencies and trials not to have someone right there to help provide one with support and comfort. It is not uncommon for single women to have pets as a way to indulge their familial and maternal instincts and, no, they are not crazy cat ladies! They’re just responding to normal human instincts.
So, Michele, when you say that Obama’s female supporters are single women I say damn right they are and proud of it! They’re intelligent, they’re informed and they see the Republican party for what they are. Throwbacks to a time they do not want to revisit. They don’t long for security, Michele, they provide their own security. They just want the same shot any guy gets in this world and they want control over their own bodies. I know it’s a concept that’s difficult for Republicans to grasp but President Obama gets it and that’s why single women will be voting for him in November.
4:30 PM PT: Wow, the Community Spotlight! I am honored.