Singles in the News: 6/28/09-7/4/09

It's time for this week's edition of..."Singles in the News"! Feel free to browse the links to this week's crop of singles-oriented articles, read those that interest you, and comment on what caught your attention here at Singletude!



6/28/09

"Area Shelters Lack Facilities for Women, Families"
By Kym Klass
montgomeryadvertiser.com
Summary: Once again, single women and mothers are left out in the cold, this time in Montgomery, AL.

"Recession Bringing Families Together, for Good or Worse"
By Steve Campbell
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Summary: In an economic crunch, single adults cobble together alternative families with parents, relatives, friends, and roommates.


6/29/09

"A Single-minded Savings Plan"
By Paula Santonocito
SingleMindedWomen.com
Summary: Do you shop till you drop too much money? This article gives sound advice on how to save at the store.

Singles With Singletude Award
"Over 40, Single and Loving It!"
KGO-TV
Summary: A San Francisco ABC affiliate interviews Jane Ganahl, editor of Single Woman of a Certain Age: 29 Writers on the Unmarried Midlife--Romantic Escapades, Empty Nests, Shifting Shapes, and Serene Independence. Ganahl chats about the emergence of the happily single older woman, the dissolution of stereotypes, and dating over 40. She also promotes her book, which addresses such diverse dimensions of single life as solo travel, friendships fit for Sex and the City, the companionship of pets, and changing relationships with parents. My favorite quote: Host Janelle Wang asks, "Why do you think a lot more women are choosing to stay single?" Ganahl answers, "Because they've been married!" Ms. Ganahl, you have real singletude, and this interview gets this week's Singles With Singletude Award!

"Why Are Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Aniston and Diane Keaton Single?"
By Erin Demchak
Starpulse.com
Summary: This article takes some guesses, but the stars themselves don't seem interested in the analysis. Diane Keatons puts it best when she says, "I don't think that because I'm not married it's made my life any less. That old maid myth is garbage." Although the author indulges in some singlist rhetoric, she too finally seems to get the point.

"Volunteers Gather for Day of Good Deeds"
By John Higgins
Ohio.com
Summary: This heartwarming article follows volunteers as they work on the grounds of a homeless shelter for single women and mothers.

"Who Goes Abroad for Fertility Treatment and Why?"
EurekAlert!
Summary: Who ever said Europeans were so open-minded? Proving that singlism is alive and well across the Atlantic, a press release from the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology reveals that countries which prohibit singles and other individuals from seeking reproductive assistance are driving aspiring parents across international borders in search of more tolerant policies.

"Why Do Some Women Still Think It's Okay to Rely on Men to Pay Their Way? Real Freedom Is Having Your Own Bank Account"
By Linda Kelsey
Mail Online
Summary: A divorcee cautions women against financial dependence on men.


6/30/09

"Advocacy Publishes Guide to Long Term Care Insurance"
EmaxHealth
Summary: An overview of the American Association of Long Term Care Insurance's new guide for women with specific tips for singles, who are most likely to need long-term care.

"Single Women in Today's Workplace"
By Paula Santonocito
SingleMindedWomen.com
Summary: Unmarried women in the workforce face the compound challenge of overcoming both marital status- and sex-based discrimination. Find out about the obstacles to their success and what's being done to combat them.


7/1/09

"Singled Out"
By Rich Kushman
The Sacramento Bee
Summary: Winetasting events draw lots of single ladies, but where are their male counterparts?

Singleschmucker Award
"Who Marries and When? Age at First Marriage in the United States: 2002"
By Paula Goodwin, PhD, Brittany McGill, MPP, and Anjani Chandra, PhD
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Summary: The 2002 National Survey for Family Growth, which somehow took seven years to analyze, proving that we do indeed spend way too much money on big government, finds that men have an 81% chance of marrying by 40 years of age, while women have an 86% chance of doing the same. (Note: As the CDC says, these statistics "do not represent the actual percentages of individuals who have married by each age shown; instead, they represent how likely it is that an individual will marry by a specified age." This is an important distinction, which has been blurred already in some online sources.) A decreased likelihood of marriage was associated with African-American ethnicity and financial poverty. The survey sampled 12,571 Americans. And guess what? This data brief about it wins the Singleschmucker Award! Yes, you, our U.S. government, are responsible for the most egregious example of singlism on this week's list! Shame on your for presenting this research as a response to "concerns over a decline in marriage" because "married persons tend to exhibit greater physical, emotional, and economic wellbeing"! Those claims are misleading because 1) they inflate minute differences between married and unmarried people and 2) attribute them to marriage when we actually don't know what is responsible for them. On top of that, they ignore the effects of divorce, which are far more detrimental than remaining single. Although I detest it, I understand why the media invents stories like this to sell papers and documentary specials. However, when the government does it, it's beyond reprehensible--it's irresponsible.


7/2/09

"32% of Singles 'Prefer Prudent Men'"
The Press Association
Summary: A third of British single women surveyed by moneysupermarket.com say they like savers more than spenders.

"Cougar Party"
By Melinda Maximova
examiner.com
Summary: The author urges older women to buck the May-December trend.

"Dating Scene Disaster Is All Our Own Fault"
By Jennifer Jones
brisbanetimes.com.au
Summary: A single female bemoans how Australian women let men play them for sport and take them for granted.

"Newly Divorced and Searching for Love? Try a Wedding"
By Shari Albert
Merced Sun-Star
Summary: We keep hearing that weddings are fertile breeding grounds for relationships in the making, but this article explains how to give that potential wedding day match some Miracle-Gro. One of the better articles on this subject that Singletude has seen.

"Single Black Women Choosing to Adopt"
By John Blake
CNN.com
Summary: Rising rates of infertility and dissatisfaction with a small pool of eligible men are leading more African-American women to adopt. This profile of one such woman advises readers on how to prepare for single-parent adoption. (Note: This was a runner-up for this week's Singles With Singletude Award.)

"What Men Should Learn from Michelle"
By Khadijah White
The Chronicle Review
Summary: This article blew me away. This is the first time I've heard it suggested that Michelle Obama might have given up opportunities of her own to become first lady. People always seem to take for granted that any wife who ends up in the White House must have fulfilled her lifelong dream the moment she stepped over the threshold. Amen to White's acknowledgement that a smart, successful woman stands to lose as much as she gains in a high-profile marriage! This article isn't about a single, but because it takes a stand against matrimania in an instance in which it would be especially tempting to buy into the fairytale, it was the other runner-up for this week's Singles With Singletude Award.


7/3/09

"Single Women, Think You Have It Tough Here?"
By Steve Penner
Seacoastonline.com
Summary: Israel promotes itself as a forward-thinking country among closed-minded neighbors. But it seems Israelis have a long way to go before they reach gender equality. "Israel is still very much a macho society," says one concerned citizen.

"WWII Vet Receives Medals 65 Years After War"
By Russell Jones
KFSM
Summary: This story isn't really about singles, but it turned up in search results, and Singletude includes it because of a disturbingly singlist quote. In "Singlism in the Military: Discrimination Against Single Servicemen," we got an eyeful of how the armed forces devalue single men. Worse, here is a verteran devaluing himself! Recalling his self-sacrificial action under attack at an American evacuation hospital, World War II hero Warren Blaylock says that he volunteered to stay behind with the injured soldiers because "I was a single man." He goes on to say that he "found five other single men to stay...One of them I had to drag, he didn't like me very much after that." Blaylock's efforts, which earned him a Bronze Star and four other medals, are, without question, highly commendable. But his comments highlight an upsetting attitude that men's lives are worth less if they're not married. In other circumstances, this article might've gotten a Singleschmucker, but I didn't have the heart to do that to a vet whose recognition was long overdue.


7/4/09

"Fake Engagement Rings Marketed to Single Women"
By Kate Spethmann
examiner.com
Summary: The author is livid that Reality Bling is selling a faux diamond ring called Ms. Taken to single women who want to ward off lecherous bar leeches. Find out why.

"Heightened Sense of Security With Women Guards On Board"
By Devjyot Ghoshal and Saikat Ray
The Times of India
Summary: Single women in India can breathe a sigh of relief when traveling alone. Female security personnel will now be required on trains.

"Just a Bus Ride From a Hot Shower"
By Raymond Castile
Suburban Journals
Summary: Homeless single men in the St. Louis metro area find shelters scarce.

"Many Women Think Being a Single Mom Is the Easier Way to Go"
By Kate Powalski
Orlando Sentinel
Summary: Well, this is a first. I have never heard a woman say that she would prefer to be a single parent, saddled with all the work and expense of child rearing on her own. However, Babytalk Magazine reports that two-thirds of single moms surveyed said they thought it was easier to parent alone. And lest you imagine these single women were just rationalizing, married mothers also wished they didn't have to hash out childcare disputes with their partners (76%) or worry about the quality of their marriages (69%). The author, a single mother herself, reflects on her own attitude toward spouse-free parenting.

"We the Bachelors"
By John G. McCurdy
The New York Times
Summary: If you think contemporary America is singlist, you may be surprised to learn just how much prejudice single men endured when this country was in its infancy.



Do you have thoughts on any of the stories above? (When commenting, please reference the title of the article.)


Do you have a question for Clever Elsie about some aspect of the single life? Have a rant or rave about singlehood? Write in, and you just might see your question in a Singletude Q&A or your rant or rave in a Singletude Sound-off!

Director of Seeking Happily Ever After Seeks Single Women for Book

Single? Female? Over 26? (Or 26 for the past five years now? ;) Don't worry; we'll use the honor system.) Want to make your voice heard?

If so, head on over to this questionnaire for single women from Michelle Cove, director of the forthcoming documentary film Seeking Happily Ever After. The questionnaire, which consists of just three short- (and sweet) answer questions, will be used to help Cove write a companion book, which she describes as "a feel-great guide to seeking your own happily-ever-after." It "will address the issues/concerns of being a single woman today that go beyond 'landing a husband,'" Cove says.

Seeking Happily Ever After doesn't have a release date yet, but Singletude is eagerly awaiting it. The trailer has already made a splash at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, where it was voted the Top-rated Trailer. Through interviews with familiar faces like Leslie Talbot (Singular Existence) and Jerusha Stewart (The Single Girl's Manifesta) and ordinary single gals over 30, the filmmakers ask why women are staying single in such unprecedented numbers and conclude that they can't be pigeonholed as either trailblazing feminists or desperate biological clock watchers. In a three-minute feature on the making of the film, Cove muses about the myth of the life lived "happily ever after" and how it can be reinterpreted by women creating their own happy endings. As she says in her bio, "The goal of this film is to challenge women to stop thinking about happily-ever-after in terms of princes and picket fences and get them to start thinking about what happiness looks like now for them as individuals--and how to get it."

In a world in which Sonia Sotomayor has replaced Cinderella as the role model for women, a documentary like this is poised to speak to a generation of females at just the right moment. Singletude can't wait for the reaction!


What are your thoughts on the Seeking Happily Ever After trailer? What does living "happily ever after" mean to you? Has that meaning changed since you were younger? What are some aspects of the single life that you would like to see the media address?


Fun Link of the Day






Do you have a question for Clever Elsie about some aspect of the single life? Have a rant or rave about singlehood? Write in, and you just might see your question in a Singletude Q&A or your rant or rave in a Singletude Sound-off!

Singles in the News: 6/21/09-6/27/09

Huzzah! A new Singletude feature!

From now on, Sundays will be respectfully reserved for "Singles in the News," a weekly digest of the most interesting and relevant headlines pertaining to singles. Stay aware or be square! ('Cause everyone knows square people have sharp edges and are scary.)

Here you'll find stories that will inspire, encourage, reassure, and sometimes agitate you, maybe enough to write your own op-ed. Plus, every week Singletude will bestow the Singles With Singletude Award to the article that highlights the most motivational single(s) and the Singleschmucker Award to the most egregious example of singlism in print.

Let's kick off this week's round-up:



6/21/09

Singles With Singletude Award
"Do It Herself"
By Richard Beales
North Bay Nugget
Summary: So you thought you needed a man to change your oil and open that pickle jar. Think again. The enterprising Kelly Donovan takes the "man" out of "handy" and replaces him with step-by-step instructional courses for self-reliant single women. Donovan's classes and one-on-one tutoring sessions cover such subjects as plumbing, electrical, and landscaping basics. "Why pay someone else to do it when you are perfectly capable yourself?" is Donovan's motto. Her plucky attitude and contribution to the empowerment of single females earn this interview the very first Singles With Singletude Award!

"Gannett Foundation Donates $42,000 to Local Nonprofit Groups"
By Graelyn Brashear
APP.com
Summary: Keansburg, NJ's ProjectPAUL, ostensibly named after that saintliest of singles, will use its Gannet Foundation grant to help homeless singles find temporary residences.

"Legal Debate Overshadows Homeless Moms"
By Jennifer Smith
Kelowna Capital News
Summary: New Opportunities for Women (NOW) Canada constructs affordable housing for disadvantaged single women. But the city of Kelowna is threatening to derail their latest housing project. Is this a case of in-your-face singlism? Read and draw your own conclusions!

"Single Women Facing Retirement Have to Make Plans in Good Time"
By Roger Crombie
The Royal Gazzette
Summary: American women need a median of $500,000 stockpiled for retirement, yet only one in 10 has saved more than $100,000, and a third haven't even saved $25,000. Find out how you can plan for retirement more effectively and stop letting those extra dollars slip through your fingers.

Singleschmucker Award
What Is It With Cats?
By Sarah Treleaven
National Post
Summary: What is it with you, Ms. Treleaven? In your effort to promote the forthcoming documentary Cat Ladies, you can't resist demonizing single witches and their familiars--err, single women and their felines--with catty comments about the "undercurrents of sweet sadness" that supposedly lurk between the ladies' lines because "they're aware that their human relationships are lacking." All the old stereotypes from female masochism to maternal impulses are proposed to explain the puzzling bond between women and cats. (Yep, you know I love cats because they remind me of hirsute babies with claws.) Worse, Treleaven enlists some blatantly singlist psychologists to stack their credentials against the film's self-sufficient women. Says Dr. Joel Gavriele-Gold, "Where there's not human contact that feels like you live in somebody's heart, at least this animal's safety, security and health depends on you, which can be a very rewarding and important feeling." Right. Because cat lovers have no other family or friends and must derive their self-worth from playing house with Fluffy. How patronizing. It's my pleasure to award this article the first ever Singleschmucker Award!


6/22/09

"Men and Cats"
By Nick Barnett
Stuff.co.nz
Summary: The single male's (admirably less singlist) response to the inscrutable bond between women and cats. Can't a guy get some feline love, too?


6/23/09

"AP Poll: Americans Consider Pets Family"
By Megan K. Scott
Associated Press
Summary: And it's not just about cats, either! Check out the lengths some soft-hearted singles will go to for their pets.

"Consumer Goods Makers Targeting Late 30s Single Men"
The Chosun Ilbo
Summary: Korean single men of a certain age with disposable income aren't afraid to get girly.

"Girl Talk: The Two Kinds of Single Woman"
By Lauren Fritsky
The Frisky
Summary: Just in time for Singletude's observations on singles by choice versus singles by circumstance, Fritsky writes about her own close encounters with singles who don't want to be. But the big surprise of this light-hearted first-person article is that the singles are far more singlist than the marrieds!

"More Single Men Applying for Welfare"
KCBS 106.9 FM
Summary: It's hard for single men in the second-most expensive city in the country to make a living during a recession. Especially when they're still paid less, on average, than married men but taxed at almost double the rate. Shocker.

"Why Single Women Need Life Insurance"
By Allison O'Connor
SingleMindedWomen.com
Summary: Even if you don't have dependents, a life insurance policy can be a lifesaver for those who might be left with your debts...or for you in retirement.


6/24/09

"International Widow Day"
By Anjana
World Pulse
Summary: International Single Women's Day (also known as International Widow Day) highlights discrimination against unmarried women in Nepal.

"Marriage Promotion Right Claim, Wrong Reasons"
By Bella DePaulo
Conducive: Conceive, Chronicle and Change
Summary: Noted singles advocate Dr. Bella DePaulo critiques the federally funded campaign to promote marriage in the U.S.

"More People Eligible for BadgerCare Health Care Plan"
WISN.com
Summary: Do you live in Wisconsin? Are you 19-64? Do you earn less than $21,660 annually? Are you single? If so, you're now eligible for BadgerCare health insurance for a fee of as little as $60.00 a year.

"Put Your Jealousy on the Back Burner and Have Faith in Trust"
By Nicola Barry
The Press and Journal
Summary: A married woman speaks out against the ostracization of singles.

"Support Group Being Formed"
Ballina Shire Advocate
Summary: The Lone Fathers Association of Australia reaches out to single dads.


6/25/09

"5 Kinda Lame Things Single Women Do That Are Actually Fun"
By Jessica Wakeman
The Frisky
Summary: I don't think any of these things are lame, nor are they limited to single women. (The author herself is coupled.) Though her article is slightly singlist, it unwittingly makes relationships look like something you need a vacation from.

"25 Must-haves for Any Single Woman's Medicine Cabinet"
By Allison O'Connor
SingleMindedWomen.com
Summary: The title says it all.

"One in Five Women Stays Childless Because of Modern Lifestyle"
By Tom Whitehead
Telegraph.co.uk
Summary: Britain's Office for National Statistics reports that single women are five times less likely than married women to have children. Child-free women are also more likely to have been only children, rank higher in education and socioeconomic status, and outperform their partners in the career arena.


6/26/09

"Salvation Army Celebrates Six Lives Taking New Paths"
By Jamie Klein
my SA news
Summary: The Salvation Army's Stepping Forward and Shining Star programs help homeless single women.

"Single Women Most at Risk of Poverty"
The FULL Story
Summary: Australia's Anglicare Victoria finds that single women are the demographic most likely to need social services.

"Where Single Men Way Outnumber Single Women?"
By Ami Angelowicz
The Frisky
Summary: A map of U.S. cities by singles population reveals that single women outnumber men in the East, while single men reign supreme in the West.


6/27/09

"More Local Residents Seek Free Health Care"
By David Hertz
sctimes.com
Summary: Single Minnesota residents lose out as the state cuts its General Assistance Medical Care program for disadvantaged single adults.

"Single by Choice"
By Dana Carroll
examiner.com
Summary: The author muses about the fallout, positive and negative, of prolonged singleness.


Do you have thoughts on any of the stories above? (When commenting, please reference the title of the article.)


Do you have a question for Clever Elsie about some aspect of the single life? Have a rant or rave about singlehood? Write in, and you just might see your question in a Singletude Q&A or your rant or rave in a Singletude Sound-off!