From the Chronicle of Higher Education, this call from Bella DePaulo (Psychology, UCSB), Rachel F. Moran (Law, Boalt Hall) and E. Kay Trimberger (Women’s and Gender Studies, Sonoma State Univeristy) for more scholarly attention to single people:
Even some of the most enduring topics in the social sciences are likely to be refreshed by a singles perspective. For example, research on stereotyping and discrimination has looked at different racial, ethnic, and religious groups, as well at people of different ages and physical conditions or characteristics. But until very recently, it was rare to study singles as a stigmatized group. * * *
In the legal curriculum, courses as diverse as torts, property, evidence, estates and trusts, health-care law, insurance law, family law, and income taxation reflect the law’s favoring of married couples over single people. As increasing numbers of Americans become or remain single, laws and policies : and the study of them : need to reflect that social change. * * *
The changing demographics make rethinking of laws, policies, and scholarship an urgent matter. The shrinking size of the nuclear family means that adults have fewer siblings to turn to for help, and parents as they age cannot rely as heavily on their children. Government aid will become increasingly important, and it will need to be directed to individuals and the personal networks that support them, as well as to families or couples.
The full article is available here (registration required)
-Bridget Crawford
