I am a firm believer that anyone can have it all, yet the paradox comes into play with defining for yourself what “having it all” subjectively means to you, i.e., not the gender-specific socialized U.S. standard of what it means to have it all.
In 2008 having it all really takes on a new meaning when one takes into consideration the relationship trends that begun in the 1970s (can someone say divorce court overload). These trends are still transforming as I type, hence the below article reflecting the increasing trend of single women in London. And I must note that because the majority of my clients are women, one does not have to be a highly ambitious or career focused woman to desire to be single. The so-called single epidemic seems to cross all class lines. I say “so-called” because I keep reading articles about this “epidemic,” but the majority of people I know are either married, or in genuine loving relationships (and yes these are highly ambitious, educated, career focused women). So is this epidemic just being blown out of proportion because our generation is not running to the altar at the rate that our parents did, or am I just living in a Bay Area bubble of happily committed and equally ambitious individuals?
Either which way, single, married, separated, widowed or divorced, young, old, Black, White, Asian, Latin, Hispanic, Arabic, or Polynesian … a beautifully amazing woman is just that … a beautiful, amazing human being. If you can’t tell yet that self-imposed stigmas are one of my main pet peeves, they’ll be more to come! =)
Single and happy: it's the freemales
Women are increasingly rejecting a desperate, Bridget Jones-like search for a perfect partner, preferring instead to enjoy their single status and refusing to compromise by settling for 'Mr Mediocre'. Caroline Davies reports.
Caroline DaviesSunday April 13, 2008
Observer
Observer
They are successful, spirited and single and their growing numbers are contributing to a major change in the make-up of the traditional British household.
'Freemales' - manless women who are happy to remain so for the present at least - are now a force to be reckoned with and are overturning the dated Bridget Jones image of the lonely woman staring despondently at an empty Chardonnay bottle. They are too busy living life to the full to make time for 'Mr Mediocre' and the last thing on their minds is, 'Will I find Mr Right today?' Instead, they are juggling careers with busy social lives and if they happen to bump into him, all well and good, but they are not going hunting.
A new report demonstrates we are now seeing the lowest marriage rates on record and more 'freemales' living alone. Released last week by the Office for National Statistics, it shows that the number of women living alone aged between 25 and 44 - the age when traditionally they would be married and having families - has doubled in the past two decades. The same report states that more than two-thirds of people questioned in a recent survey believed they did not need a partner to enjoy a happy and fulfilled life.
**Read the rest of the article here: http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/relationships/story/0,,2273313,00.html
