Single That: Dispelling the Top 10 Myths of the Single Woman

Journalist Deadwiler (Life, Love and the Pursuit Of) advocates for the rights of single women in this energetic work. By exposing the double standard of expectations for men and women when it comes to love and family, Deadwiler drives home the point that women can, in fact, be happy and single. She deconstructs expectations of traditional gender roles and heteronormative motives that lead to such myths as that single women are desperate, lonely, jealous, high maintenance, or hard to love. She also provides suggestions for changing the way people think about and behave around single individuals, such as avoiding assumptions about why someone is single and offering a nonjudgmental ear. While Deadwiler does well to dispel the myths around the straight single woman, her examples and advice never consider the perspective of LGBTQ readers. The self-work she stresses urges women not to settle for less than what they want: “It’s important that we not only believe we’re worth what we desire, but also the wait necessary to obtain it.... Better to be alone than in bad company.” Single readers will find wise advice and many great examples of how contentment can be a solo act in Deadwiler’s empowering testament. (Self-published)