Spinster

Spinster or old maid is a term referring to an unmarried woman who is older than what is perceived as the prime age range during which women usually marry.

[3] As a denotation for unmarried women in a legal context, the term dates back to at least 1699,[4] and was commonly used in banns of marriage of the Church of England where the prospective bride was described as a "spinster of this parish".

"[6] The 1828 and 1913 editions of Merriam Webster's Dictionary defined spinster in two ways: By the 1800s, the term had evolved to include women who chose not to marry.

[8] One 19th-century editorial in the fashion publication Peterson's Magazine encouraged women to remain choosy in selecting a mate — even at the price of never marrying.

[11] Age is a crucial part of the definition, according to Robin Lakoff's explanation in Language and Woman's Place: "If someone is a spinster, by implication she is not eligible [to marry]; she has had her chance, and been passed by.

[citation needed] In the journal Critical Studies in Television, Lauren Jade Thompson proposes that one of the male characters in How I Met Your Mother is portrayed as a spinster, rather than as a bachelor.

[16] A 2009 University of Missouri study of 32 women found that modern "spinsters" feel a social stigma attached to their status and a sense of both heightened visibility and invisibility.

[21] In modern peacetime societies with wide opportunities for romance, marriage and children, there are other reasons that women remain single as they approach old age.

[22] Other reasons women may choose not to marry include a focus on career, a desire for an independent life, economic considerations, or an unwillingness to make the compromises expected in a marriage.