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When rock-icon Lenny Kravitz told American women to “stay away” in his remake of “American Women” in the year 2000, they listened.
The U.S. Census Bureau recently released statistics stating that there are 95.7 million unmarried and single Americans. Of these, 54 percent are women.
As a result of media influence and marketing, women are no longer compelled to enter into the institution of marriage.
The turn of the 21st century brought more than just a technological revolution; it spurred a dating revolution and a shift in relationship values.
The inventions of e-dating sites such as e-Harmony.com or perfectmatch.com which boast over three million users each, has quelled the pressures of women needing to marry quickly. Instead, many choose to wait it out in hopes of finding “the one.”
Through examples from media sensations like Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson, women are being encouraged to play the field and get out of relationships they are not satisfied in.
Furthermore, the idea of “marrying a rich boy” is increasingly becoming obsolete as both Spears and Simpson had the upperhand financially in their marriages, thereby inspiring women to take hold of the money they earn and to use it for their own pleasures.
The ideal of pursuing one’s own ambitions instead of trading a career for a broom and apron is one true value in this age. Women have taken a serious interest in their careers, comprising over 15.7 percent of the corporate officers in America’s 500 largest companies.
Even role model Barbie is unwed. She ended her 43-year relationship with Ken in 2004 in order to pursue her plethora of careers.
Despite holding a steady job, single women are still procreating. According to USA Today, 35.7 percent of all births in 2005 were to unmarried women.
Either these single parents are out to prove that they can handle life without a man or our country faces some serious issues of promiscuity.
Even if promiscuity were partially the case, the number of female, single-parent adoptions is on the rise as well.
The Child Welfare League of America noted that in 2005, 31 percent of almost 36,000 children were adopted by single mothers.
Women are moving to create their own families aside from a male presence perhaps because about half of all marriages end in divorce.
On a related note, the notion of family is also evolving with the emergence of a larger gay population.
Although gay men are left out of the marriage statistics alongside women, since their union is illegal in every state except Massachusetts, it is impossible to know what percentage of women are lesbians and in a union already.
However this number would play a large factor in determining what percentage of American women truly are unmarried.
Taken as a whole, there is no reason to be alarmed that women are remaining unwed.
As long as new life is being brought into the world on a consistent basis, society will continue to exist, ‘till death do us part or not.
By Lizzie Rosen
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