All the Single Ladies

January 18, 2016
Incorporating a lively slew of perspectives of single ladies past and present, Traister (Big Girls Don’t Cry) conducts a nuanced investigation into the sexual, economic, and emotional lives of women in America and the opportunities available when marriage is no longer “the measure of female existence.” She takes into account the realities of loneliness, poverty, delayed reproduction, and childlessness that make singlehood difficult for some, as she fills out the picture with subjects across the spectrum of color and class, dismantling the persistent myths about female desire and ambition with earnest energy and facts. Traister is funny and fair in how she deals with the prevalent stereotypes and remaining stigmas attached to being an unmarried woman in society. She sticks to her central argument that the world is changing and policies need to catch up to the social reality. The result is an invigorating study of single women in America with refreshing insight into the real life of the so-called spinster. Agent: Linda Loewenthal, the Loewenthal Company.

February 15, 2016

As Beyonce sang, "Now put your hands up!" Today, only 20 percent of adults under the age of 29 are married, compared with nearly 60 percent in 1960, a dramatic shift in which unmarried women played a major role. In this compelling narrative, Traister (Big Girls Don't Cry: The Election That Changed Everything) investigates how scores of single women have contributed to important social and political movements that have changed U.S. history--before and after Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem. A thoughtful journalist, Traister explores the history of the "spinster" and explains how issues such as class, race, sexuality, and religion have impacted single women throughout time, and how they in return have influenced the workplace, personal space, and the concept of family. In addition to her painstaking research, Traister includes stories from the unattached ladies themselves in more than 100 interviews and draws on pop culture references such as Sex & the City and Bridesmaids. While the image of the free, independent woman is considered a modern sensation, Traister reveals that she has always fought for the right to own her self-identity as well as for the rights of others. VERDICT This fast-paced, fascinating book will draw in fans of feminism, social sciences, and U.S. history, similar to Gail Collins's When Everything Changed. [See Prepub Alert, 9/28/15.]--Venessa Hughes, Buffalo, NY

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