14 DAY TRIAL // The recently coined term of “freemale” refers to a woman who chooses to be independent and focus on her career instead of getting married, starting a family, or depending in any way on men. It introduces a new type of woman, who is happy on her own and does not need a family to report her success to, because she is professionally able to do whatever she sets her mind to. It also refers to a phenomenon that has been considerably gaining proportions, with the number of single women doubling in the last three decades, a new study has pointed out.
While being financially and emotionally independent is truly admirable, it is also something that is taking its toll on women worldwide, as the latest poll performed in the UK has revealed. The price for said independence is high, with most such “freemales” ending up alone and depressed in middle age and in later years. With no strings to tie them down while still young, they learn that old age can be terrible when there’s no one to share it with, it has been said.
The results of the General Household Survey, conducted by the Government’s Office for National Statistics on more than 17,000 females are worrying, to say the least. Approximately a third of the women in the UK end up living alone by the time they reach retirement, while one in five will never have a child. At the same time, over 50 percent of females under 50 have never been married, which translates into double the numbers of three decades ago. While most of them have had relationships that also implied living with a partner, marriage has ceased to be an option because these affairs are generally short-lived, with only a small percentage of them crossing the three-year mark.
The findings of the survey clearly indicate that women are beginning to gradually turn their back on the traditional view of life with marriage and children by 30. Economic concerns, as well as the biased view on the institution of marriage, also contribute to women no longer showing the same willingness or desire to officially tie the knot. For most of them, staying single is a matter of choice, and it’s a choice they make with a smile on their face, being perfectly satisfied with their singleton status, the study has also revealed.
Nevertheless, not all single women are single by choice, it has been pointed out. As Robert Whelan from Civitas sees it, the increasing number of “freemales” is like a blade that cuts both ways. “Some people live on their own because they want to. But in many cases there are women who have not made that choice – living alone is just something that has happened to them. For a whole raft of reasons, marriage has become unattainable for many.” Whelan says, as quoted by the Daily Mail.