The NYT reports that 51% of women now live without husbands. And then they say that these women live without spouses. I'd say, You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
For better or worse, women are less dependent on men or the institution of marriage
I wonder what the results would have been if they asked women whether they lived with a partner?
Posted by binky at January 16, 2007 12:42 AM | TrackBack | Posted to Gender and PoliticsOK, for those of us without a deep knowledge of language and linguistics, or an OED, what does "spouse" mean?
Posted by: Armand at January 16, 2007 09:55 AM | PERMALINKWebster says spouse means husband or wife (i.e. married). They clearly asked if women lived with a "husband" on the survey. I wonder what would have been the response if they asked women "do you live with a spouse" or "do you live with a partner" or something like that. It seems to me (without linguistic evidence, just popular usage in media, etc) that spouse has become more general. And, I bet lots of women live with men they consider to be their spouse even if they are not married. So, that blockquote is true, women are less dependent on men and marriage, but it does mean they aren't living with men to whom they are committed.
Posted by: binky at January 16, 2007 11:54 AM | PERMALINKProbably not very different. What age group does that cover?
Posted by: Nelson Guirado at January 18, 2007 02:21 AM | PERMALINKThey don't break it down (in the story at least) which is why I am curious what the actual questions and categories were. All the story says is "15 and older."
Posted by: binky at January 18, 2007 08:32 AM | PERMALINK