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All the Single Ladies! 'Spinster' author says celebrate party of one

"Spinster" may sound like a rather old-fashioned term to our ears. But the fact is, a growing number of modern women are choosing to stay single. In her new book, "Spinster: Making a Life of One's Own," author Kate Bolick explores her own relationships and her reluctance to tie the knot.
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there's nothing new about some women choosing to live a single life and live it to the fullest. But what we once called "Spinsterhood" still has some fusty connotations and author Kate Bolick wants to change that. (Crown Publishers)
The Current25:00All the Single Ladies! 'Spinster' author says celebrate party of one - May 20, 2015
Book author Kate Bolick (left) and the women that inspired her book: poet Edna St.Vincent Millay and social reformer Charlotte Perkins Gilman (top row), journalist Neith Boyce, and novelist Edith Wharton (bottom row) (Hulton Archive/Getty Images, Francis W. Halsey, Frances Benjamin Johnston)

Let's face it... When it comes to living life as a single adult woman. "the Cat Lady", embodies quite a few of the stereotypes associated with what used to be called "spinsterhood." From the disheveled appearance, to the generally kooky behaviour. But that stereotype may be changing.

More and more women are choosing to stay happily single today... with or without the cats. And Kate Bolick is one of them. Her new book borrows that old word for its title though. It's called "Spinster: Making a Life of One's Own."

Kate Bolick joined us in our Toronto studio.

Women who reached 25 years of age, not married, during the early 1900's, were called 'Catherinettes' in France. Friends made hats, often outrageous, and crowned them for St. Catherine's Day.

Are you a happily single woman... or maybe you wish you were!? Or do you have your own spinster hero... or awakener?

Send us a note, we're [email protected]. You can always find us on Facebook, or Twitter @TheCurrentCBC.

This segment was produced by The Current's Lara O'Brien.
 

RELATED LINKS

All the Single Ladies - Kate Bolick, The Atlantic

Kate Bolick's Spinster aims to destigmatize the single woman - The Globe & Mail

Being single is a mindset, not just a relationship status - Chatelaine

Kate Bolick on being single in the Sex and the City age and the "spinster state of mind - Slate

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