The Rise of Independent Superwomen
A discussion on the article titled, “The Rise of Lonely, Single Men”
There has been a lot of conversation recently about an article titled “The Rise of Lonely, Single Men”. I’ve seen many people reference this article and so I decided to read it for myself. The spark notes version is that women today “prefer men who are emotionally available, good communicators, and share similar values”.
Essentially, women are raising their standards and no longer rely on men for the things they traditionally needed in the past: a bank account, and home ownership.
When I first came across the title, it struck me as odd that the author had focused on one gender especially if we’re talking about heterosexual relationships, you need two to tangle. Surely a rise in “lonely” men would cause a tangential rise in “lonely” women. No, is the resounding response from social media. Through reading, watching, and listening to women either in response to this article or not, it seems women are the ones who are turning away from dating.
To me, this all seems to be a very recent shift in relations. I watched one YouTuber discuss how the sexual revolution, abortion rights, and education have made women become so powerful that we’re now able to exist and thrive without a male counterpart.
It made me think about how I’d grown up. Back then my mother was very strict about grades and schooling like most ethnic parents are. For that generation, education is a means to social mobility, it’s how you make something of yourself. Which was why I was put on the medical path early and why she pushed so hard for me to achieve well in school.
Anything less than 100% was a disappointment. I remember my constant annoyance at feeling like a failure on what I felt was good enough. However, my mother pushed all her children this way and it just became my reality. After a while, I became used to the response and it stung a little less each time.
Even though my mother treated my brother similarly when it came to schooling, I noticed household chores weren’t divided as equally, there was a heavier expectation on me. Yes, I was the eldest but even as we moved into adolescence and then into adulthood the gap between…
