I am not sure on about how it is in English, but in Danish the “proper” word for certain minorities change every couple of years. As an example I wouldn’t know what to call a person with Down’s syndrome anymore because whatever I choose it will probably be politically incorrect.
I kinda feel the same way about the word “single” (the two probably cannot really be compared I am doing it anyway). The word is obsolete and I cringe at the use of the word as a marketing category: there are single girls, single literature, single vacations, single ready meals and single brad pans. And built into the word there’s an implicit premise that one should be “double” to be whole, and that it’s only possible when you have a man in your life.
I especially hate the fact that being a single woman surely must mean that you are constantly on the prowl for a man.
When I’m asked to describe myself whether I am a man or not is one of the most important things. When I have stated that I am not, then it’s if I have a man or not. It’s tiring and I sometimes feels like it can build a cliff between me and my non-single friends.
Often I have to remind myself that being single doesn’t translate into being weird or unwanted – because that is what the word “single” carries with it. I guess I would just like a word for my civil status that doesn’t imply that I am desperate, lonely and/or dysfunctional.
