Women have certainly come a long way — no longer feeling the need to put a ring on it due to social or cultural pressures.
It turns out, US women are ditching the traditional idea of marriage — and instead choosing to live their best single lives.
And the proof is in the data — according to a 2023 Pew Research Center survey, almost half of US women didn’t view marriage as an important element of a fulfilling life, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
The percentage of women looking for romance is on a steep decline. According to a 2022 Pew survey, only 34% of single gals were looking for a serious romantic relationship, which is down from 38% in a 2019 survey.
Reportedly, almost 54% of women between the ages of 18-40 declared themselves as single, according to an analysis of census data by the Aspen Economic Strategy Group.
Once upon a time, women would hide their singleness, ashamed to not be settled down with kids by a certain age — but nowadays, women are celebrating it and even openly talking about it on social media.
“I don’t think we give enough credit to single women who love being single because there’s still the whole childless cat lady troupe out there,” content creator Anne Kai said in a podcast clip posted to TikTok.
“You can enjoy life alone, you don’t need somebody to bear witness to your joy to make it exist.”
The hundreds of comments on the video prove this phenomenon to be true.
One commenter wrote: “Literally love being single. I move on my terms and no one else’s.”
“I’m afraid I like being single too much now,” chimed in another person.
“I love being single, I’ve learned so much being by myself,” a commenter agreed.
“There’s been a simple but profound shift in the dating space: Women are realizing that protecting their peace is their number one priority,” dating and relationship expert Danielle Szetela told the Daily Mail.
In a viral video showing 103-year-old Betty Reid Soskin, the oldest serving park ranger, being interviewed for a supposed documentary, when asked what advice she would give her younger self — Soskin replied, saying “to never marry.”
“I think that I could have done all the things that I have done without a man.”
As expected, many women took to the comment section to admire Soskin’s candidness — and share their own story of either getting divorced or choosing to never marry.
“When I got divorced, my life began,” one comment read.
45, single and childfree. I treasure this,” someone else said.
