When lawmakers start to make laws that hurt single women, often the women that they're hurting the most are not the economically powerful ones. They're not Sandra Fluke. They're not Lena Dunham, who conservatives hate more than anybody. They're hurting low-earning single mothers. Rebecca Traister conservativedunhamearn share on social
Plenty of the women who were single in the nineteenth century wrote about their desire to evade marriage. Marriage was scary in a lot of ways. It often involved having a lot of kids, losing your autonomy, being in service to a husband and children who were often born at an unremitting pace without the benefit of modern medicine. Rebecca Traister autonomybearbenefit share on social
In 1970, the average woman had her first child at 21.4; by 2012, it was almost 26, an age by which many young adults are at least a few years deep into jobs or careers. Rebecca Traister adultageaverage Change image and share on social
Bill Clinton had to propose to Hillary Rodham several times before she agreed to marry him and move to Arkansas. Rebecca Traister agreearkansasbill Change image and share on social
Obama has proved to be particularly adept at using the media to disseminate his administration's messages, but he is a masterful orator. Bill Clinton, too. Rebecca Traister adeptadministrationbill Change image and share on social
'Marriage' was not that big a deal, to be honest! I mean, it makes life easier for technical reasons: insurance, next-of-kin stuff, joint tax filing, etc. The real shocker was falling in love with the man I'm married to. I was 32 when we met, and I had really never been in a functional relationship before, had never been deeply in love. Rebecca Traister bigdealdeeply share on social
Throughout America's history, the start of adult life for women - whatever else it might have been destined to include - had been typically marked by marriage. Rebecca Traister adultamericadestine Change image and share on social
The contest between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders offered such a bright and bracing contrast to all those professional wrestlers emerging from the RNC's clown car. Rebecca Traister berniebracebright Change image and share on social
During childbearing years, changing jobs - even for a fundamentally better gig - can be a very bad idea. Those prime childbearing years - mid-twenties to early forties - overlap precisely with prime professional years. This is when employees are most attractive to new employers, when they should be able to zip up ladders with the most alacrity. Rebecca Traister alacrityattractivebad share on social
In 2013, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, around 64 percent of mothers with children under six worked. Rebecca Traister bureauchildlabor Change image and share on social