Monday, February 19, 2007

The New Single Woman! Halleluja!

So I was sceptical at first, about the idea of celebrating singlehood. It struck me as re-appropriation ie. taking a negative idea and trying to make it positive, which Im not a fan of. But this is a really cool book that Kay Trimberger has written about older single women who are not cohabitating (ie. single) but are happy! They are living rich, fulfilled lives and are WHOLE without a "soulmate." Really, the idea that we need someone else in our lives to be whole is so sad! It's so important to remember that we are whole the way that we are. So here's a description of the book posted on Trimberger's website (I love it!):

E. Kay Trimberger tackles one of the largest social phenomena of our times: the increasing number of single women over 35. Drawing on the diverse personal stories of long-term single women, including herself, Trimberger explodes the idea that fulfillment comes only through finding a soul mate. The new single woman rejects the cultural pressure to couple and unabashedly lives a fulfilling single life, one where she is not on her own, not defined primarily by self-reliance, but by her skills at creating friendships and her ability to link networks of friends into a community. Trimberger's analysis opens up new alternatives for the "good life," and speaks to the anxieties of single women in their twenties and early thirties.

The book's argument that married/coupled women and single women (including bisexuals and lesbians) are not different or in competition, but rather at opposite ends of a continuum that comprises many women in-between is a paradigm-shifting notion - one that ultimately strengthens and enriches both single women and couples. Networks of friends and extended family sustain single women, link them to coupled women and offer security to both.

Fascinating personal accounts of how single women's lives evolve over time, combined with incisive observations and trenchant analysis, provide a new cultural road map for creating a satisfying and meaningful single life.

http://www.kaytrimberger.com

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