As a single independent woman, I am often misunderstood and I have Jennifer Aniston to blame for that.
Many of us spend $10 every Friday night to see a movie about a sad, desperate woman who feels incomplete without a man. As fast as she can say “pass the vodka and chocolates", a hot, mysterious man comes by, and suddenly he’s all she’s missing in life. Jennifer Aniston has played this role – on screen and off – more times than I can count.
In a survey done by AARP Magazine in 2006, 93% of single women claim their independence is important to their quality of life. So why is it, then, that single women are portrayed as unhappy, unlovable spinsters in the media?
According to my mother, Aniston and I have one thing in common – we’re both going to die alone. I, however, have been the only one to really show I’m perfectly fine with that. There is too much pressure on women to couple up. How disappointing that the media treats a woman’s singleness like it’s worse than swine flu.
Every so often I want to spend $10 to see a movie about a strong, empowering heroine who conquers life all on her own and there’s no sappy fairytale wedding before the credits roll.
Market research group, Mintel, conducted a poll in 2005 and found that 56% of single women in England are “very happy being single and have no intentions of getting married.” Now you know where Aniston will be booking her next vacation.
Right now my love life is as lively as a sloth’s dance recital. The more I get dumped on Valentine’s Day via e-mail, or stood up at a restaurant, the more happy and willing I am to spend my years in solitude like the majority of the lasses overseas.
Entering womanhood, I’ve admired the few female characters in film that choose to remain single and independent.
In the Sex and the City movie, Samantha Jones broke up with her boyfriend saying, “I love you, but I love me more.” I was relieved that, finally, she wasn’t portrayed as someone desperate for marriage and children.
Mary Richards of The Mary Tyler Moore Show is another example of a woman choosing to make it on her own. Richards was an intelligent, hard working journalist in her 30s. She didn’t need a man to help her financially or emotionally. The show aired in the 70s, when it was rare for a female character to be depicted that way. Although it may be ancient news to most couch potatoes, I’ve always loved the show (thanks to the $9 DVDs at Costco) because I see a lot of myself in Richards, as I do with Jones.
As women, we’ve gone through many revolutions; getting the right to vote, the right to abortion and the right to work outside the home. What Aniston and I need right now is the right to be single without automatically being labeled unhappy.
