Men: Can’t live without ‘em – or can we?
Per a recent Wall Street Journal report, women who date men – younger women in particular – are deviating from traditional paths toward relationships and marriage in favor of living single, amid mounting frustration with a demographic that’s been stubborn to change with the times.
Indeed, studies show that men are actually growing increasingly conservative, and that attitude has seeped into their dating philosophies. Women, meanwhile, are becoming increasingly progressive, independent, better educated higher earners – which means they are no longer relying upon men for stability.
The Journal’s report cites surveys from sources like Pew Research Center and the American Enterprise Institute to paint a picture of an American female populace that’s growing happier with being unpartnered. Plus, while women are skipping the dating portion of life in greater numbers, they’re not opting out of other life milestones – women are buying homes and raising children without men more than ever before, since they now have the freedom to do so.
Women’s standards for partners are higher, in short, because they finally can be. Economics reporter Rachel Wolfe, who authored the report, told NPR that “fully half of college-educated women blamed their singlehood largely on an inability to find someone who meets their expectations.”
Another contributing factor, Wolfe added on the podcast, is that the rapid growth of social media has allowed women to show other women what this empowered, single-on-purpose life can look like. And not only does it foster acceptance, it makes that option look good.
“I think that for younger people in particular, who grew up with a little bit less stigma around remaining single, who had models of, like, really fabulous independent women, it’s become almost a trend,” Wolfe said. “We’re seeing people touting their boy-sober and off-the-market status on TikTok. And we’re really seeing a focus on self-improvement, friendship, the ability to find happiness on your own.”
She added: “It’s no longer like, ‘Oh, you just can’t get a man.’ Now there’s real pride in creating an independent life and not settling.”
