Don’t Underestimate Single Women Voters by A. Smith
The impetus for Smith’s essay is the book “All the Single Ladies,” by Traister, which I have posted about in several posts already such as (Link): this one or (Link): this one.
Much of what this author, Smith, says about single women in regards to the Republican Party -that Republicans need to start paying attention to and validating single women and their concerns- can also be said of conservative Christians.
Conservative Christians continue to either ignore single women or to attack them for being single, in spite of the fact that Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 7 that it is better for a person to remain single.
There is nothing wrong with a person wanting to get married, BUT, conservative Christians need to stop acting as though marriage is a cure for society, or is the norm or the default. By doing so, they marginalize singleness and single adults.
(Link): Don’t Underestimate Single Women Voters by A. Smith
Excerpts:
- …Writer Rebecca Traister—author of the new book All the Single Ladies—explains that the rise of single women is “a radical upheaval, a national reckoning with massive social and political implications” as single women outnumber married women for the first time in American history. Marriage has shifted from an expectation in a woman’s early 20s to a life goal saved for someday (if ever).
- … For a while, the GOP pushed for marriage in response. There are good reasons for this strategy beyond boosting their electoral game. Many of today’s single women are still coupling, cohabiting, and having children—without the legal status of marriage that conservatives consider an importantstabilizing factor, morally and socially.
- …But the other side of the political spectrum [i.e., right wing] also has a lot to offer single women, including a sense of empowerment and agency for them to make their own way in the world, independent of fathers or husbands.
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Republicans laughed when the Obama campaign debuted “The Life of Julia” to illustrate how Obama’s policies would benefit a woman throughout her life, but it was an effective campaign that showed single women that they were worth considering. When Republicans fail to picture this crucial demographic in their campaign materials or policy speeches, those women may be forgiven for feeling overlooked.
- …Single women need more than the promise of government benefits or tax cuts. They need to know that they are seen, that they contribute to our society, and ultimately, that their lives matter.
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Related Posts:
(Link): Scary Single Ladies: Rebecca Traister Explains Why Single Women Frighten The Hell Out Of The GOP
(Link): The Single American Woman via NY Magazine
(Link): Why Single Women Have Baby Fear Of Missing Out – by L. Crocker – via Daily Beast
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