One of the better definitions of spinster >From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia A spinster (or old maid) is a woman who has never been married, though it is usually applied only to women who are regarded as beyond the normal age for marriage, which has varied between cultures and eras. "Spinster" was a legal term appended to the name of a woman whose occupation was spinning as early as the 14th century, but in the 17th it came to denote a still-unmarried woman. There used to be quite a stigma related to being a spinster[citation needed], but this has somewhat disappeared in modern Western Civilization along with the establishment of women's rights to vote, own property, and pursue career goals as well as changing social mores regarding non marital sexual relationships and advents in birth control. Stereotypes historically perpetuated about spinsters include sexual and emotional frigidity, frumpiness, depression, moral virtue, religious devotion, victim of an oppressive mother and family caretaker. The term is also of legal use in some places; in the United Kingdom, for instance, until the introduction of the Civil Partnership Act 2004 any woman never previously married was categorized as a "spinster" on a marriage licence, regardless of her age at the time the licence was issued (with a never-married man being listed thereon as a "bachelor"). In Australia parties are held for young single people to meet and socialise (particularly in the rural areas), these events are known as Bachelor and Spinster Balls or colloquially 'B and S Balls'. Spinsters were another result of the two World Wars, where male war deaths drastically reduced the number of males available for marriage. For example, in the First World War, Britain lost approximately one million young men, and France and Germany each lost approximately two million. This made it impossible for millions of younger women in these countries to find a man to marry. The image of the old spinster with a fading photo of her dead World War I soldier/boyfriend on her mantlepiece was common in movies of the 1950s and 1960s. >From: "Clyde Downing" <[email protected]> >Reply-To: [email protected] >To: <[email protected]> >Subject: Re: [NJ] OCCUPATIONS >Date: Tue, 8 May 2007 08:11:01 -0800 > >I think there must be another explanation for "spinster". Women did not >work in those days,at least not as an occupation. I have seen it used >occassionally and the ladies were all unmarried. I should think the word >would have been "Spinner" if that is what she was doing. Clyde > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Loreen Wells<mailto:[email protected]> > To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> > Sent: Monday, May 07, 2007 7:48 PM > Subject: Re: [NJ] OCCUPATIONS > > > I think a lot more women worked those days than we think. Maybe they > just didn't get much credit for it. > Loreen Wells > > Carol Payne wrote: > > Thank You David!! That sheds a whole new light on one of my >ancestors.... > > Her will refers to her as "Spinster", and I just thought it must have >been a > > "clerical error", because I knew she had been married. It just never > > occurred to me that they would list the occupation of a woman... (at >least > > not back in the 1700's). > > > > You have no idea how much I appreciate your posting of that >information. > > Your efforts to help everyone are invaluable! Thank you! > > > > Carol in Oklahoma > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> with the word >'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > >------------------------------- >To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >[email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in >the subject and the body of the message _________________________________________________________________ Now you can see troubleĀ before he arrives http://newlivehotmail.com/?ocid=TXT_TAGHM_migration_HM_viral_protection_0507