Turning that shawl into a cape: older never married women in their own words – the ‘Spinsters’, the ‘Singletons’, and the ‘Superheroes’

ABSTRACT

Unmarried and childless women are frequently portrayed negatively in society. Social storytelling often renders them discriminated against, or in extreme cases, outcast by their kin or clan. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with never married women to explore the concept of femininity, constructions of identity in daily-life, identity changes over time, marital status, and the interaction between having not married and womanhood. Data specifically relating to self-definitions of femininity and marital status concentrate on the speakers’ constructions of themselves as both the subject (powerful) and the object (powerless) of their own reflective enquiry. Four key themes emerged through the analysis: ‘Being Never Married’; ‘Society’s Perceptions’; ‘Being Feminine’; and ‘The Self and Transitions’. This study facilitates understanding of never married women’s relationship with themselves, their gender identity, and marital status; and is key to understanding how this population discusses their marginalisation in society.

KEYWORDS:

• Femininity
• identity
• marital status
• never married
• society

Acknowledgements

The authors would first like to thank all the participants who took part in this study without whom this research would not have been possible. Also, to Dr. K. Kinloch, for her initial encouragement of this analysis, and finally to the members of the Discourses of Marriage Research Group and the editors of this special issue, whose advice and guidance have been invaluable to the preparation of this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Sergio A. Silverio is a Research Assistant in Qualitative Analysis of Women’s Health at King’s College London’s Department of Women & Children’s Health, where he is establishing a provision for qualitative research. He is also an Honorary Research Fellow at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Institute for Women’s Health, University College London; and an Honorary Fellow of the Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Liverpool where he originally trained as a Psychologist, specialising in Clinical and Health Psychological Sciences. His main research focus is women’s mental health, using qualitative methods to explore women’s experiences over the lifecourse. His work into older never married women’s social networks attracted critical acclaim from The British Psychological Society. More recently, he has concentrated his research efforts on experiences of pregnancy loss, perinatal mental health, and theorising female psychology in relation to power, privilege, and shame – doing so through internationally reaching collaborations, academic journal articles, and a series of invited book chapters.

Laura K. Soulsby is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology, University of Liverpool. Her research interests include adult developmental transitions and the psychosocial experience of growing older. Her work has a particular focus on the role of personal relationships, identity, and resilience in the experience of significant life events, including bereavement, marital status change, and chronic illness. She has co-authored a book entitled Developmental Transitions: Exploring Stability and Change through the Lifespan (Routledge, 2019).

ORCID

Sergio A. Silverio http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7177-3471

Laura K. Soulsby http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9071-8654