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Article: Spinsterhood is powerful. (success and determination of non-feminist women who did not marry and have families) (Column)
- Article from:
- National Review
- Article date:
- July 19, 1993
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1993 National Review, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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IT IS TYPICAL of America that having invented efficiency apartments, singles bars, Soup for One, and That Cosmopolitan Girl, we have dropped spinster from the language and consider old maid a sexist slur.
I make a point of using both. If I fill out a form that asks for my marital status I skip the printed selections, write in spinster, draw a block beside it, and check it. When an aluminum-siding telephone salesman asked to speak to the "man of the house," I said, "There isn't any, I'm an old maid," and derived enormous satisfaction from his audible gulp.
Spinsterhood was powerful long before feminism hit the fan. Point to any area of "sex ...