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''Spinster'' is a term referring to an unmarried woman who is older than what is perceived as the prime age range during which women usually marry. It can also indicate that a woman is considered unlikely to ever marry. The term originally denoted a woman whose occupation was to
spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally ...
. A synonymous term is old maid. The closest equivalent term for males is "
bachelor A bachelor is a man who is not and has never been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". (). Etymo ...
" or "confirmed bachelor", but this generally does not carry the same connotations in reference to age and perceived desirability in marriage.


Etymology and history

Long before the Industrial Age, "the art & calling of being a spinster" denoted girls and women who spun wool. According to the ''Online Etymological Dictionary'', spinning was "commonly done by unmarried women, hence the word came to denote" an unmarried woman in legal documents from the 1600s to the early 1900s, and "by 1719 was being used generically for 'woman still unmarried and beyond the usual age for it'". As a denotation for unmarried women in a legal context, the term dates back to at least 1699, and was commonly used in
banns of marriage The banns of marriage, commonly known simply as the "banns" or "bans" (from a Middle English word meaning "proclamation", rooted in Frankish and thence in Old French), are the public announcement in a Christian parish church, or in the town ...
of the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...
where the prospective bride was described as a "spinster of this parish". The ''Oxford American Dictionary'' tags "spinster" (meaning "...unmarried woman, typically an older woman beyond the usual age for marriage") as "derogatory" and "a good example of the way in which a word acquires strong connotations to the extent that it can no longer be used in a neutral sense." The 1828 and 1913 editions of ''Merriam Webster's Dictionary'' defined spinster in two ways: By the 1800s, the term had evolved to include women who chose not to marry. During that century middle-class spinsters, as well as their married peers, took ideals of love and marriage very seriously, and spinsterhood was indeed often a consequence of their adherence to those ideals. They remained unmarried not because of individual shortcomings but because they didn't find the one "who could be all things to the heart". One 19th-century editorial in the fashion publication ''
Peterson's Magazine ''Peterson's Magazine'' (1842–1898) was an American magazine focused on women. It was published monthly and based in Philadelphia. In 1842, Charles Jacobs Peterson and George Rex Graham, partners in the ''Saturday Evening Post ''The Sa ...
'' encouraged women to remain choosy in selecting a mate — even at the price of never marrying. The editorial, titled "Honorable Often to Be an Old Maid", advised women: "Marry for a home! Marry to escape the ridicule of being called an old maid? How dare you, then, pervert the most sacred institution of the Almighty, by becoming the wife of a man for whom you can feel no emotions of love, or respect even?"


Current use

The ''Oxford American English Dictionary'' defines spinster as "an unmarried woman, typically an older woman beyond the usual age for marriage". It adds: "In modern everyday English, however, spinster cannot be used to mean simply 'unmarried woman'; as such, it is a derogatory term, referring or alluding to a stereotype of an older woman who is unmarried, childless, prissy, and repressed." Currently, ''Merriam-Webster's Dictionary'' defines the "unmarried woman" sense of the term in three ways: (1) an archaic usage meaning "an unmarried woman of gentle family", (2) a meaning related to (1) but not tagged as archaic: "an unmarried woman and especially one past the common age for marrying" and (3) "a woman who seems unlikely to marry". Dictionary.com describes the "woman still unmarried beyond the usual age of marrying" sense of the term as "Disparaging and Offensive". A usage note goes on to say that this sense "is ... perceived as insulting. It implies negative qualities such as being fussy or undesirable". Also included is a sense of the word used specifically in a legal context: "a woman who has never married". Wordreference.com describes the "woman still unmarried" sense of spinster as "dated". Age is a crucial part of the definition, according to Robin Lakoff's explanation in ''Language and Woman's Place'': "If someone is a spinster, by implication she is not eligible
o marry O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), plu ...
she has had her chance, and been passed by. Hence, a girl of twenty cannot be properly called a spinster: she still has a chance to be married". Yet other sources on terms describing a never-married woman indicate that the term applies to a woman as soon as she is of legal age or
age of majority The age of majority is the threshold of legal adulthood as recognized or declared in law. It is the moment when minors cease to be considered such and assume legal control over their persons, actions, and decisions, thus terminating the contr ...
(see
bachelorette ''Bachelorette'' (/ˌbætʃələˈrɛt/) is a term used in American English for a single, unmarried woman. The term is derived from the word '' bachelor'', and is often used by journalists, editors of popular magazines, and some individuals ...
, single). The title "spinster" has been embraced by feminists like Sheila Jeffreys, whose book ''The Spinster and Her Enemies'' (1985) defines spinsters simply as women who have chosen to reject sexual relationships with men. In her 2015 book, ''Spinster, Making a Life of One's Own,'' Kate Bolick has written, "To me, the spinster is self-reliant and inscrutable. We think we know what the wife is up to and what the mother is up to but the single woman is mysterious. I like that mystery. So the term is a useful way to hold onto the idea of autonomy that can get so easily lost inside of marriage or motherhood". In 2005, in England and Wales, the term was abolished in favour of "single" for the purpose of marriage registration. However, it is still often used when the
banns of marriage The banns of marriage, commonly known simply as the "banns" or "bans" (from a Middle English word meaning "proclamation", rooted in Frankish and thence in Old French), are the public announcement in a Christian parish church, or in the town ...
are read by Church of England parish churches.


Research

A 2009
University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...
study of 32 women found that modern "spinsters" feel a social stigma attached to their status and a sense of both heightened visibility and invisibility. "Heightened visibility came from feelings of exposure and invisibility came from assumptions made by others".


Women and marriage

Women may not have married for a variety (and/or combination) of reasons, including personal inclination, a dearth of eligible men (whose numbers can decrease dramatically during wartime), and socio-economic conditions (that is, the availability of livelihoods for women). Writer and spinster
Louisa May Alcott Louisa May Alcott (; November 29, 1832March 6, 1888) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet best known as the author of the novel ''Little Women'' (1868) and its sequels ''Little Men'' (1871) and '' Jo's Boys'' (1886). Raised in ...
famously wrote that "liberty is a better husband than love to many of us". Social status issues could also arise where it was unacceptable for a woman to marry below her social rank but her parents lacked the funds to support a marriage within their social rank. In the early 19th century, particularly in England, women would fall under
coverture Coverture (sometimes spelled couverture) was a legal doctrine in the English common law in which a married woman's legal existence was considered to be merged with that of her husband, so that she had no independent legal existence of her own. U ...
, stating that all property and contracts in their name would be ceded to their husbands. This was particularly common in women who owned businesses. The
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
prevented many within a generation of women from experiencing heterosexual romance and marriage or having children. In modern peacetime societies with wide opportunities for romance, marriage and children, there are other reasons that women remain single as they approach old age. Psychologist
Erik Erikson Erik Homburger Erikson (born Erik Salomonsen; 15 June 1902 – 12 May 1994) was a German-American developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst known for his theory on psychological development of human beings. He coined the phrase identity ...
postulated that during young adulthood (ages 18 to 39), individuals experience an inner conflict between a desire for intimacy (i.e., a committed relationship leading to marriage) and a desire for isolation (i.e.,
fear of commitment In self-help literature, fear of commitment is the avoidance of long-term partnership and/or marriage. In popular culture and in psychology, the concept is often much more pervasive and can affect an individual's school, work, and home life as well. ...
). Other reasons women may choose not to marry include a focus on career, a desire for an independent life, economic considerations, or an unwillingness to make the compromises expected in a marriage. Some writers have suggested that to understand why women do not marry, one should examine reasons women ''do'' marry and why it may be assumed they should marry in the first place. According to Adrienne Rich, "Women have married because it was necessary, in order to economically, in order to have children who would not suffer economic deprivation or social ostracism, in order to remain respectable, in order to do what was expected of women because coming out of 'abnormal' childhoods they wanted to feel 'normal', and because heterosexual romance has been represented as the great female adventure, duty, and fulfillment".


Around the world

Never-married women are called "aanissat" in
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
, "spinsters" or "old maids" in English, "vieilles filles" in
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
, "zitelle" in Italian, "alte Jungfer" in
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
, " shengnu" in Mandarin, "stara panna" in Polish and "dakhtar torsheedeh" in Persian. In Japan, where
women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...
had traditionally been expected to marry at a young age, those who were unmarried after the age of 25 were
metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wi ...
ically referred to as ''(unsold) Christmas cakes'' (クリスマスケーキ) in reference to items which are still unsold after the 25th.


Events today

In Australia, parties are held for young single people to meet and socialize (particularly in the rural areas). These events are known as Bachelor and Spinster Balls or colloquially "B and S Balls". A philanthropic group of women between the ages of 21 and 35, called the Spinsters of San Francisco, organizes events.


Media

By the 2010s, interest developed in this word as a form of reappropriation from
third-wave feminists Third-wave feminism is an iteration of the feminist movement that began in the early 1990s, prominent in the decades prior to the fourth wave. Grounded in the civil-rights advances of the second wave, Gen X and early Gen Y generations third-wav ...
. Examples include blogs and videos, such as "Reclaiming the Pejorative", including a '' Bitch Magazine'' article and the Spinster House YouTube channel.


Film

Many classic and modern films have depicted stereotypical spinster characters. For example: *In the classic ''
Now, Voyager ''Now, Voyager'' is a 1942 American drama film starring Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, and Claude Rains, and directed by Irving Rapper. The screenplay by Casey Robinson is based on the 1941 novel of the same name by Olive Higgins Prouty. Prouty ...
'' (1942),
Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her p ...
portrayed Charlotte Vale, a conventionally unattractive, overweight, repressed spinster whose life is dominated by her dictatorial mother, an aristocratic Boston dowager whose verbal and emotional abuse of her daughter has contributed to the woman's complete lack of self-confidence. *Bette Davis played a spinster named Charlotte in '' Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte'' (1964). *
Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...
specialized in playing spinsters in the 1950s, such as Rosie in '' The African Queen'' (1951), Jane Hudson in '' Summertime'' (1955), and Lizzie in '' The Rainmaker'' (1956). *The fictional character Bridget Jones often refers to herself as a spinster in the film '' Bridget Jones's Diary'' (2001). *The documentary ''Cat Ladies'' (2009) involves four spinsters whose lives have become dedicated to their cats. *
Maureen O'Hara Maureen O'Hara (; 17 August 1920 – 24 October 2015) was a native Irish and naturalized American actress and singer, who became successful in Hollywood from the 1940s through to the 1960s. She was a natural redhead who was known for pl ...
played Mary Kate Danaher in ''
The Quiet Man ''The Quiet Man'' is a 1952 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by John Ford. It stars John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Barry Fitzgerald, Ward Bond and Victor McLaglen. The screenplay by Frank S. Nugent was based on a 1933 ''Saturday Ev ...
'' (1952). *In '' The Great Train Robbery'' (1978), Edward Pierce's (Sean Connery) courting of Edgar Trent's plain spinster daughter Elizabeth (Gabrielle Lloyd) is a plot point regarding Pierce's acquisition of the first of four keys needed for the heist. *In '' It's a Wonderful Life'' (1946), George Bailey sees the consequences of a world in which he never existed, one of which is that his wife Mary would have become an "old maid" librarian. The film presents this as a tragic outcome, but modern viewers have noted that the spinster version of Mary—portrayed as independent, gainfully employed, & surrounded by books—is hardly living an unfulfilling life.


Literature

In both ''
The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunk ...
'' (early 1590s) and ''
Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...
'' (late 1590s),
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
referred to a contemporary saying that it was the fate of women who died unmarried to lead apes into hell. By the time of the
British Regency The Regency era of British history officially spanned the years 1811 to 1820, though the term is commonly applied to the longer period between and 1837. King George III succumbed to mental illness in late 1810 and, by the Regency Act 1811, ...
, ''ape leader'' had become a
slang Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-gr ...
term for an old maid. It is often used in that context in
Regency romance Regency romances are a subgenre of romance novels set during the period of the British Regency (1811–1820) or early 19th century. Rather than simply being versions of contemporary romance stories transported to a historical setting, Regency ro ...
s and other literature set in that period. The word ''thornbacks'' was used to refer to old maids in Peter Anthony Motteux's 1694 English translation of
François Rabelais François Rabelais ( , , ; born between 1483 and 1494; died 1553) was a French Renaissance writer, physician, Renaissance humanist, monk and Greek scholar. He is primarily known as a writer of satire, of the grotesque, and of bawdy jokes ...
' 16th century novels ''
Gargantua and Pantagruel ''The Life of Gargantua and of Pantagruel'' (french: La vie de Gargantua et de Pantagruel) is a pentalogy of novels written in the 16th century by François Rabelais, telling the adventures of two giants, Gargantua ( , ) and his son Pantagruel ...
''. In one of the earliest examples of autobiographical writing in English,
John Dunton John Dunton (4 May 1659 – 1733) was an English bookseller and author. In 1691 he founded The Athenian Society to publish '' The Athenian Mercury'', the first major popular periodical and first miscellaneous periodical in England. In 1693, for f ...
wrote in 1705 that unmarried women in Boston were called ''thornbacks'' at the age of thirty. A thornback ('' Raja clavata'') is a commonly eaten species of ray fish, the female young of which were called ''maids'', and in Scotland ''maiden-skates''. The books '' Washington Square'' and '' The Heiress'' have old maid heroines who ultimately choose to remain spinsters and embrace the freedom of not having to enter marriage. One stereotype of spinsters that appears in literature is that they are downtrodden or spineless women who were victims of an oppressive parent. This stereotype is played out in
William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most o ...
's classic short story "
A Rose for Emily "A Rose for Emily" is a short story by American author William Faulkner, first published on April 30, 1930, in an issue of '' The Forum''. The story takes place in Faulkner's fictional Jefferson, Mississippi, in the equally fictional county of ...
" (1930), in which Emily's father is confident that no man is worthy of his daughter's hand in marriage. Other stereotypes include women who were relegated to lifetime roles as family caretaker for their family of origin or for a married sibling's children, "poor relations" who would work "to earn their keep" as
nannies A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...
or unpaid domestics. For example, being a
governess A governess is a largely obsolete term for a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching. In contrast to a nanny, ...
was the fate expected by the rejected titular orphan in Charlotte Brontë's novel ''
Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The first ...
'' (1847); Eyre retained that status until the man she loved was widowed and available. A common theme in the fiction writings of author/poet Sandra Cisneros is marital disillusionment; for example. in the poem "Old Maids" (1994). In the
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...
' classic ''
Great Expectations ''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. It depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip (Great Expectations), Pip (the book is a ''bildungsroman''; a coming-of-age story). It ...
'', the primary antagonist is
Miss Havisham Miss Havisham is a character in the Charles Dickens novel ''Great Expectations'' (1861). She is a wealthy spinster, once jilted at the altar, who insists on wearing her wedding dress for the rest of her life. She lives in a ruined mansion with ...
, a spinster embittered by being defrauded and abandoned on her wedding day; an event that shaped the rest of her life, and by extension, those around her. Another stereotype of the spinster that has appeared in literature is the quick-witted and sometimes quick-tempered independent woman, who has remained unmarried by choice, as in "Spinster Thurber's Carpet" (1897), Pauline Phelps's popular short story and play about an unmarried woman who decides during the Revolutionary War that she'd rather have a carpet than a husband. The popular and shrewdly intelligent detective Miss Marple was a spinster heroine in
Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fiction ...
's series of crime novels, which later became a television series. In
Jane Austen Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...
's '' Emma'', the character Miss Bates is a spinster and Austen (who never married) gives her stereotypical negative characteristics such as garrulousness. In
Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and ...
's ''
Midnight's Children ''Midnight's Children'' is a 1981 novel by Indian-British writer Salman Rushdie, published by Jonathan Cape with cover design by Bill Botten, about India's transition from British colonial rule to independence and partition. It is a post ...
'', Alia Sinai becomes a spinster after the man she was engaged to marry elopes with her sister. Alia's characterization at times resembles the proud, feminist conception of a spinster: she becomes a successful professional and a courageous pro-democracy political activist. Other aspects of Alia's characterization, however, align with the more traditional, misogynistic conception of spinsterhood: she is portrayed as ugly, bitter, vengeful, and, at least as concerns her family, destructive.


Music

The Kingston Trio's "Take Her Out of Pity", included on their 1961 album ''
Close-Up A close-up or closeup in filmmaking, television production, photography, still photography, and the comic strip medium is a type of shot (filmmaking), shot that tightly film frame, frames a person or object. Close-ups are one of the standard s ...
'', is based on the traditional American folk song, " The Old Maid's Song".
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
's song " The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" (1963) tells the true story of a murder at a spinsters' ball in
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
in 1963.
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
, while in
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
, composed the hit song " Eleanor Rigby" (1966) about the loneliness and death of a spinster (though he never used the term in the lyrics). The country song " Delta Dawn", made famous by
Tanya Tucker Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter who had her first hit, " Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. Over the succeeding decades, Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature in ...
, overviews the plight of a woman focused on a single lost love, destined to go unmarried unless the lover returns.


Television

Tina Fey Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and playwright. She is best known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1997–2006) and for creating the ...
's portrayal of her character Liz Lemon, on the hit NBC series ''
30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live'', tak ...
'', exemplifies another classic spinster stereotype. Lemon, a 40-something single woman whose relationships never seem to work out, has unrealistically high expectations for a male partner: her dream husband is the archetypal "Astronaut Mike Dexter", and for much of the series her character is holding out on settling on a man until she can score an astronaut. Clare Foster portrays female adventurer Roberta Steingas on ABC's comedy drama " Galavant", who decides to depart for "Spinster Island" after parting from her significant other, Richard, and giving up on marriage. In keeping with typical stereotypes, travelers on the voyage to "Spinster Island" are provided with a cat and a box of chocolates. Fortunately for Roberta, Richard returns and proposes to her before she leaves.


See also

*
Cat lady A cat lady is a cultural archetype or stock character, most often depicted as a woman, a middle-aged or elderly spinster or widow, who has many cats. The term may be pejorative, or it may be affectionately embraced. Usage and association Women ...
* Catherinette *
Hikikomori , also known as acute social withdrawal, is total withdrawal from society and seeking extreme degrees of social isolation and confinement. ''Hikikomori'' refers to both the phenomenon in general and the recluses themselves. ''Hikikomori'' ha ...
* Medieval singlewomen *
She never married "He never married" was a phrase used by British obituary writers as a euphemism for the deceased having been homosexual. Its use has been dated to the second half of the 20th century, and it may be found in coded and non-coded forms, such as when ...
* Sheng nu


References


External links

* {{cite journal , last1=Mustard , first1=Deborah J. , title=Spinster: An Evolving Stereotype Revealed Through Film , journal=Journal of Media Psychology , date=2000 , volume=4 , url=http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/sfischo/index.html, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120926120923/http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/sfischo/index.html, archive-date=26 September 2012
Goodbye to the Spinster
by Wendy Braitman
Barbie: Always a Bridesmaid, Never a Bride
by Wendy Braitman Age-related stereotypes English words Interpersonal relationships Non-sexuality Pejorative terms for women Stereotypes of women