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Title details for All the Single Ladies by Rebecca Traister - Wait list

All the Single Ladies

Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation

by Rebecca Traister
ebook
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* NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOKS OF 2016 SELECTION * BEST BOOKS OF 2016 SELECTION BY THE BOSTON GLOBE * ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY * NPR * CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY *

The New York Times bestselling investigation into the sexual, economic, and emotional lives of women is "an informative and thought-provoking book for anyone—not just the single ladies—who want to gain a greater understanding of this pivotal moment in the history of the United States" (The New York Times Book Review).
In 2009, award-winning journalist Rebecca Traister started All the Single Ladies about the twenty-first century phenomenon of the American single woman. It was the year the proportion of American women who were married dropped below fifty percent; and the median age of first marriages, which had remained between twenty and twenty-two years old for nearly a century (1890–1980), had risen dramatically to twenty-seven.

But over the course of her vast research and more than a hundred interviews with academics and social scientists and prominent single women, Traister discovered a startling truth: the phenomenon of the single woman in America is not a new one. And historically, when women were given options beyond early heterosexual marriage, the results were massive social change—temperance, abolition, secondary education, and more. Today, only twenty percent of Americans are married by age twenty-nine, compared to nearly sixty percent in 1960.

"An informative and thought-provoking book for anyone—not just single ladies" (The New York Times Book Review), All the Single Ladies is a remarkable portrait of contemporary American life and how we got here, through the lens of the unmarried American woman. Covering class, race, sexual orientation, and filled with vivid anecdotes from fascinating contemporary and historical figures, "we're better off reading Rebecca Traister on women, politics, and America than pretty much anyone else" (The Boston Globe).

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    March 1, 2016

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781476716589
      • File size: 1510 KB

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781476716589
      • File size: 2461 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      January 18, 2016
      Incorporating a lively slew of perspectives of single ladies past and present, Traister (Big Girls Don’t Cry) conducts a nuanced investigation into the sexual, economic, and emotional lives of women in America and the opportunities available when marriage is no longer “the measure of female existence.” She takes into account the realities of loneliness, poverty, delayed reproduction, and childlessness that make singlehood difficult for some, as she fills out the picture with subjects across the spectrum of color and class, dismantling the persistent myths about female desire and ambition with earnest energy and facts. Traister is funny and fair in how she deals with the prevalent stereotypes and remaining stigmas attached to being an unmarried woman in society. She sticks to her central argument that the world is changing and policies need to catch up to the social reality. The result is an invigorating study of single women in America with refreshing insight into the real life of the so-called spinster. Agent: Linda Loewenthal, the Loewenthal Company.

    • Library Journal

      February 15, 2016

      As Beyonce sang, "Now put your hands up!" Today, only 20 percent of adults under the age of 29 are married, compared with nearly 60 percent in 1960, a dramatic shift in which unmarried women played a major role. In this compelling narrative, Traister (Big Girls Don't Cry: The Election That Changed Everything) investigates how scores of single women have contributed to important social and political movements that have changed U.S. history--before and after Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem. A thoughtful journalist, Traister explores the history of the "spinster" and explains how issues such as class, race, sexuality, and religion have impacted single women throughout time, and how they in return have influenced the workplace, personal space, and the concept of family. In addition to her painstaking research, Traister includes stories from the unattached ladies themselves in more than 100 interviews and draws on pop culture references such as Sex & the City and Bridesmaids. While the image of the free, independent woman is considered a modern sensation, Traister reveals that she has always fought for the right to own her self-identity as well as for the rights of others. VERDICT This fast-paced, fascinating book will draw in fans of feminism, social sciences, and U.S. history, similar to Gail Collins's When Everything Changed. [See Prepub Alert, 9/28/15.]--Venessa Hughes, Buffalo, NY

      Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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