Rebecca Traister’s All the Single Ladies: “Female Inferiority” (April 2017 Edition)

Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, single women have been undervalued and regarded as inferior. They have been treated with disrespect and inferiority when compared to men as they were once believed to be destined as housewives and old maids as well as being stereotyped, conformed to a fixed or general pattern, for being ‘gentle and motherly,’ per Merriam Webster. However, women are better than the stereotypes and have hence demonstrated independence in marriage and in the ability to understand the media and politics in spite of such.

Nonetheless, what many fail to realize is women can do just as much as men and have proven it many times, as shown through independence. People even fail to realize that although “Big cities, with their phallic, skyscraping tributes to man’s triumphs over nature and free markets, are destined to make us think of masculinity, most cities gain their hard edges and steely characters from the women who have long inhabited them” (Traister 72). Furthermore, even though women have made a huge impact in the United States, they have been regarded as inferior, as explained via Rebecca Traister’s book, All the Single Ladies.

One of the ways in which women have been regarded as inferior occurs on page seventy-three of All the Single Ladies. On this page, author Rebecca Traister refers to the nineteenth century when single women were trying to find work in the factories and mills to support themselves independently but were instead regarded as “cheap labor.” “In the nineteenth century United States, new mills and factories, especially in New England, actively recruited young women as cheap labor (Traister 73). But even though they were regarded as this “cheap labor” and considered inferior, women were responsible for the “improvements in infrastructure---better roads, canals and the railroad boom” (Traister 73). Hence making it difficult to understand why they were ever regarded as inferior in the first place.

As a result of this “cheap labor,” women aspired to gain liberation from their “destined futures” of being housewives and mothers and decided to work in the factories and mills to earn their own income. They were tired of the men doing all the work while they stayed home and took care of the children, so they took initiative and began to work alongside the men in the terrible conditions of the factories and mills. However, women were met with resistance as “their behaviors [were] monitored by bosses, neighbors, clergy, and boardinghouse mistresses” (Traister 73-74). They were watched and criticized for their work but were, for once in their lives, given “the chance to postpone, if often only for a short time, their inevitable futures as economically dependent wives and mothers” (Traister 73). This was not an easy task however, as women were also forced to endure “unrewarding and physically difficult” labor because they “were far from carefree” in terms of living stress-free lives (Traister 73). But this did not stop them from making an impact on the development of the United States infrastructure.

Correspondingly, single women have made a tremendous impact in the creation and shape of cities as they helped build them from the ground up. And ironically, it was the cities that provided them with a safer harbor as opposed to the environments in rural cities. “Cities have long provided safer harbor for, and have in turn been shaped by, single women” (Traister 72). They have been places in which majorities of populations have dwelled as they are “chock-full of single people, male and female: never married, divorced, widowed, and separated” (Traister 72). Places in which single dwellers could come and live their lives of freedom and independence. Traister also goes on to state that “While more than 25 percent of people across the United States live alone, metropolises like Cincinnati, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Seattle, and Denver boast single-dwelling households that comprise more than 40 percent of their total populations” (Traister 72). A number that is continuing to grow as Traister adds that “according to Going Solo, the percentage of solo-dwellers in Manhattan climbs to around 50 percent” (Traister 72). These are large percentages of single women who have decided against marriage and have instead chosen the path to independence.

Independence is the state in which people are not under control or connected with someone or something else. The state in which an individual can rely solely upon themselves rather than having to depend on others as it is a very important trait many women would like to possess because “if women could live independently, many would do so” (Traister 17). They would live independently but are attacked for wanting to do so, as explained through the case of Anita Hill and her experience of sexual harassment in the workplace. “[Hill] detailed her former boss’s references to pornographic movie stars, penis size, and pubic hair in professional contexts. In turn, she was pilloried by the conservative press, spoken to with skepticism and insult by many on the committee, and portrayed by other witnesses as irrational, sexually loose, and perhaps a sufferer of erotomania, a rare psychological disorder that causes women to fantasize sexual relationships with powerful men” (Traister 14). She was treated as inferior because she was an African-American single woman who wanted to stand up for herself instead of bowing to the corrupt society of inferiority. However, the committee in which Anita had testified before was comprised of an “all-male Senate Judiciary Panel,” so of course they refused to believe her because she was an African-American single female without any desire to marry (Traister 13). They instead preferred to believe she was “a little bit nutty and a little bit slutty” (Traister 14). In addition to this, Hill stated that she felt her singleness “allowed her detractors to place her as far outside the norms of proper behavior as they could” and that “Members of the Judiciary could not understand why [she] was not attached to certain institutions, notably marriage, because [she] was unmarriageable or opposed to marriage, the fantasizing spinster or the man-hater” (Traister 14). Traister also goes on to add that Hill felt “much was made in the press of the fact that [she] was single, though the relevance of [her] marital status to the question of sexual harassment was never articulated” (Traister 14). Hill believed that her detractors supposedly felt as though she was “entitled” to sexual harassment because she was not married and had chosen to remain single. She believed the senators “were attempting to establish a relationship between marriage, values, and credibility, and prompt people to wonder why a thirty-five-year-old black woman had chosen to pursue a career and to remain single, instead of looking at the real case (Traister 15). The judges decided to look at an unmarried, African-American female who had no desire to marry, thus believing she suffered from erotomania.

Erotomania is a rare psychological disease that causes women to fantasize relationships with powerful men. It is the belief that if a single woman has not married nor has any intentions in doing so, then she must fantasize about other men in hopes of one day doing so. This is however incorrect because if a woman is single, it does not mean she has a disorder. It simply means that she does not want to marry because she does not want to engage in marriage, which is oftentimes the unfortunate determining factor in which many consider women to be of value. The factor in which many believe to have become an institution that has forced women into matrimony, thus taking away their freedom. In an interview with Traister about marriage, feminist Sheila Cronan claimed that “Since marriage constitutes slavery for women… freedom for women cannot be won without the abolition of marriage.” (Traister 23). Cronan believed that since marriage was a form of slavery, it would prohibit women from experiencing individuality and freedom for themselves, as shown in the 1970s with the median age of marriage, as explained by Traister. “in 1970, the median age of first marriage for women remained under twenty-one years, and 69.4 percent of Americans over the age of eighteen were married” (Traister 23-24). This means that during this time in American history, women married earlier and much more frequently when compared to those of present day as they were more likely to marry at a younger age because of the societal expectations in which women were to marry men who could support them economically. Some women even began to drop out of college to search for one. As stated by Traister, “around sixty percent of female students were dropping out of college to find a man by the end of the 1960s.” (Traister 64-65). In addition to this, Dr. Charles Cole of New York Presbyterian University, wrote “a girl who gets as far as her junior year in college without having acquired a man is thought to be in grave danger of becoming an old maid” (Traister 64-65). That if a woman did not find a man near the end of her college career, she was doomed to live alone and become an old maid. Traister also goes on to state that in order to prevent this from occurring, women would drop out of college to either marry or because of the realignment of expectations and what was known as the media blitz. “female students were dropping out of college, either to marry or because the media blitz and realignment of expectations led them to believe that further education would inhibit their chances of finding a husband” (Traister 64). This was because the media played a large role in determining the length of a female college students’ collegiate career in terms of marriage as it affected their chances in finding a mate.

Unfortunately, these college drop-outs were under the impression that they needed to find and marry a man or they would be in danger of becoming an old maid, which is in part due to false ideas spread by the media. These are ideas that dictate society’s belief in telling individuals what to believe, such as Disney’s stories on girls becoming princesses and waiting for their prince charming to save them from potential threats. But because of this, the media understands its power over society and may oftentimes attempt to take advantage of society and report what is known as ‘fake news. These are false reports spread by the media that attempt to confuse or mislead readers into thinking actual events are taking place, such as the case of Pizzagate involving former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. This was an event where screenwriter Edgar Maddison Welch was listening to conspiracy theorist and radio show host, Alex Jones when Jones spread a rumor that Clinton was running a child sex-trafficking ring inside a Comet Ping Pong restaurant in Salisbury, North Carolina. As a result, Welch decided to ‘take action’ and end the horrendous act. He went to the restaurant carrying an AR-15 rifle and open fired into the crowd as soon as he opened the entrance door. Fortunately, nobody was harmed in the incident but the restaurant suffered from a significant decrease in business and incurred additional costs to install alarms for their interior and exterior camera systems, as reported by Eli Rosenberg of The New York Times. Although the customers were untouched by the bullets, they were faced with an unnecessary and traumatic experience all due to a false report from Alex Jones. It was a report that almost ended in bloodshed because of Jones’s decision to report incorrect information based on personal feelings as opposed to evidence regarding the former female presidential candidate and Secretary of State.

Regrettably, this was an issue that impacted Clinton because she was frowned-upon as a female with a mysterious past as Secretary of State. Although she was not regarded as the most trustworthy person in politics, she was a person whom some men refused to vote for, simply because she was a woman, per Daniel Bush of PBS NewsHour. Bush states that when he asked Donald Trump voter Tommy McKelvey, if he would ever vote for Hillary, he said no because “with a man you look for leadership and guidance. With a woman, you look for companionship and nurturing. A motherly role.” In other words, McKelvey stereotyped Hillary Clinton into having a soft and gentle motherly presence with no chance of being a leader for others to look to for guidance. He saw her as a ‘soft and gentle’ woman who was supposed to stay home, take care of the kids and clean the house while the man (Donald Trump) was out working and leading the country to greatness.

Furthermore, many women have experienced this ‘soft and gentle’ stereotype because of their past and present treatment as inferior. According to Traister, the Times views females as “Girls of gentleness and refinement [who] do not care to be courted upon the open highway, nor in public parks, and thus the world is filling with spinsters who… had they a proper place in which to entertain their admirers, would develop into happy, excellent wives and still happier mothers (Traister 87). Women were supposed to live up to the stereotype of being happy wives and mothers because of the way society viewed them. Another example is politician Jeb Bush’s stereotypical statement regarding women finding a husband. “[Women] should be able to get their life together and find a husband” (Traister 18). This comment was due to his belief that women must be dependent upon their male counterparts and stay home with the kids. A belief that goes on through the media in terms of the popular HBO show Sex and the City, a show about four friends who explore the dating scene in Manhattan while learning dating habits. According to Traister, this show “became the measure by which every urban-dwelling unmarried woman would be seized up and written-off by friends and family” (Traister 93). She believed the characters in the show were disregarded and treated differently because they were single, independently-living Caucasian women in New York City who were, as the show stereotypically illustrated, “white women with so much money” (Traister 93).

As unfortunate as it may be, these are not the only stereotypes against women. There are also many that apply to them but in the form of dolls and princesses for the ‘little girls.’ The girls who are, as Disney depicts, inferior to men because they are damsels in distress who need to be rescued by their prince charming, as stereotypically envisioned. To prove this as a growing issue of female inferiority, Brigham Young University conducted a study to determine whether or not the Disney princess stereotype really existed. The study involved 198 preschoolers and assessed how much young females (ages three and four) interacted with the Disney Princess culture. In the study, both girls and boys were asked to view Disney Princess media and determine whether or not they would play with the designated princess toys afterward. According to the results of the study, Lead Researcher Sarah M. Coyne concluded that “96 percent of girls and 87 percent of boys had viewed Disney Princess media and while more than 61 percent of girls played with princess toys at least once a week, only four percent of boys did the same” (McBride). A saddening percentage that has shaped the cruel and terrible society in which we inhabit where girls are only ‘supposed to’ play with princesses and dolls and where boys are only ‘supposed to’ play with cars and love sports. Where women are not ‘supposed to’ be independent or provide for themselves and where marriage is the only path to avoid becoming the proverbial “old maid” (Traister 65). A place where women must meet society’s expectations in order to avoid being labeled as “the fantasizing spinster or the man-hater” (Traister 14).

Consequently however, these media driven stereotypes have slowly begun to improve through new Disney movies such as Brave and The Princess and the Frog where the female protagonist is strong and cable of choosing her own destiny. Stories where the main character does not need to be married or rely on someone else because they are independent and self-sufficing females.

Overall, female inferiority is an issue of increasing struggle in the United States of America. It is an issue that has created problems in the Industrial Revolution and is one that continues to this day. From topics like marriage and independence to topics of media and politics, women have been treated as inferior when compared to men. They have been accused of suffering from erotomania for choosing not to marry and have been attacked for trying to live independently because of the belief that they are supposed to be ‘gentle and motherly’ creatures who must stay at home to take care of the children instead of getting out and working with the men. They are individuals who have been accused of running child sex-trafficking rings inside pizza restaurants and are individuals who are ‘supposed to be’ Disney Princesses as stereotypically envisioned through the media. But women’s inferiority is an issue that needs to be destroyed because nobody deserves to be treated as inferior, especially when they are essential to the survival of the human race, as explained throughout the book All the Single Ladies by Rebecca Traister.

Works Cited

Bush, Daniel. “The Hidden Sexism That Could Sway the Election.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/newshour/features/hidden-sexism/.

McBride, Jon. “Disney Princesses: Not Brave Enough.” Brigham Young University, Brigham Young University, 3 Nov. 2016, news.byu.edu/news/disney-princesses-not-brave-enough.

Rosenberg, Eli. “Alex Jones Apologizes for Promoting ‘Pizzagate’ Hoax.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 25 Mar. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/03/25/business/alex-jones-pizzagate-apology-comet-ping-pong.html?_r=0.

“Stereotype.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stereotype.

Traister, Rebecca. All the Single Ladies. Simon and Schuster Paperbacks. 2016.