30歲單身女性數量空前
There are almost 57 million single women currently living in America, so unless there's a clandestine army of lonely cat ladies somewhere out there, it's safe to say these single women are a far cry from the sad spinster stereotype they're still (still) trying to shake. Let's all say it together now: Women can be single and happy.
目前美國約有5700萬單身女性，所以除非這其中有一羣祕密喜歡貓的孤獨女性，否則我們完全可以說這些單身女性完全不是那種可悲的老處女形象，她們也正在試圖改變人們的這一刻板印象。現在讓我們一起說出來吧：單身女性是可以快樂的。But that might not be something that can be said about so many single men. Compared to the three-quarters of women who said they would rather be alone, successful, and happy than settle for a sub-par relationship, only 58 percent of men had the same positive outlook on being single, according to a 2016 survey conducted by legal services company Avvo. Talk about a swap in stereotypes.
但很多單身男性可能就不是很快樂了。法律服務公司Avvo在2016年開展了一項調查，據調查顯示有3/4的女性寧願自己單身、成功、快樂的生活，也不願意勉強接受不那麼滿意的戀情，相比這些女性，只有58%的男性對單身持以樂觀態度。他們都談論要改變人們的刻板印象。The Marriage Limitation
婚姻限制
So why are single women happier now? Well, this is the first moment in history where Americans have really started to break with that whole 'single women equal lonely spinsters while single men equal adventurous bachelors' narrative, which is huge. According to Dana Weiser, Ph.D., an assistant professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Texas Tech University, it's part of a major cultural shift that's been brewing over the past several decades.
所以爲什麼單身女性現在更加快樂呢？因爲這是美國人歷史上首次開始真正打破那種“單身女性就是孤獨的老處女，單身男性就是充滿冒險精神的單身漢”的說法，這是一項十分浩大的工程。據德克薩斯理工大學人類發展和家庭研究部門的副教授Dana Weiser博士所述：過去幾十年一直都在醞釀一場重大的文化改革，這一趨勢就是改革的一部分。
Historically, women needed marriage if they wanted to have sex or have children the culturally acceptable way. But for the first time, relationships have started to come with a longer list of limitations than advantages for women. "There's still a lot of burden that's placed on women when they're in romantic relationships, especially if sharing a household. Obviously relationships can be great, but we still see quite a bit of gender division when it comes to household duties and childcare responsibilities," says Weiser.
歷史上，從文化接受角度來看，女性只有結婚後纔能有性生活或生孩子。但史上第一次，情感關係爲女性帶來的侷限性要比好處多得多。“女性在談戀愛時，仍然面臨着很多的壓力，尤其是住在同一屋檐下時。顯然，談戀愛是件美好的事情，但當提到家務活誰幹孩子誰帶等問題時，仍然還是有很大的性別分工情況，” Weiser說道。The shockingly small number of women who make it all the way up the corporate ladder evidences that burden. In 2015, 45 percent of entry-level jobs were held by women, according to the latest data from and McKinsey's Women In The Workplace study. But the number of women in the workplace starts to drop off as responsibilities outside the office heat up - at the C-suite level, only 17 percent of positions are held by women.
成功提升自己在公司地位的女性只有很少一部分，這一令人吃驚的數字證實了這一壓力。2015年，LeanIn組織和麥肯錫職場女性研究的最新數據顯示：入門級的職位中45%都是女性職員。但由於女性在家庭事務中的責任增多，因此職場女性的人數開始減少——最高管理層中女性只佔17%。
