The Marginalized Majority : Media Representation and Lived Experiences of Single Women

Singleness is a lived experience common to all human beings, regardless of gender, class, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. The author proposes that singleness no longer be perceived as a «retroactive» condition, but as a universal experience that serves as a starting point for understanding human development.

This book presents a cultural analysis of social discourses and lived experiences of single women, a demographic category that census figures indicate to be the statistical «norm» in the United States and Canada – and yet, it remains a group that largely sees itself as marginalized. While singleness and other forms of non-normative lifestyles have been gaining interest from academics and society at large, a distinct commitment to female singleness studies has yet to emerge.
Each chapter looks at distinct features of social constructions of female singleness and/or lived experiences of single women, and textual analyses and cultural critiques are used to develop a richer investigation of the data. The theoretical framework is grounded in a cultural analysis, not only using the concepts thematically to more clearly understand the data, but also calling into question the utility of the concepts themselves.