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!