30岁单身女性数量空前
There are almost 57 million single women currently living in America, so unless there's a clandestine army of lonely cat ladies somewhere out there, it's safe to say these single women are a far cry from the sad spinster stereotype they're still (still) trying to shake. Let's all say it together now: Women can be single and happy.
目前美国约有5700万单身女性，所以除非这其中有一群秘密喜欢猫的孤独女性，否则我们完全可以说这些单身女性完全不是那种可悲的老处女形象，她们也正在试图改变人们的这一刻板印象。现在让我们一起说出来吧：单身女性是可以快乐的。But that might not be something that can be said about so many single men. Compared to the three-quarters of women who said they would rather be alone, successful, and happy than settle for a sub-par relationship, only 58 percent of men had the same positive outlook on being single, according to a 2016 survey conducted by legal services company Avvo. Talk about a swap in stereotypes.
但很多单身男性可能就不是很快乐了。法律服务公司Avvo在2016年开展了一项调查，据调查显示有3/4的女性宁愿自己单身、成功、快乐的生活，也不愿意勉强接受不那么满意的恋情，相比这些女性，只有58%的男性对单身持以乐观态度。他们都谈论要改变人们的刻板印象。The Marriage Limitation
婚姻限制
So why are single women happier now? Well, this is the first moment in history where Americans have really started to break with that whole 'single women equal lonely spinsters while single men equal adventurous bachelors' narrative, which is huge. According to Dana Weiser, Ph.D., an assistant professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Texas Tech University, it's part of a major cultural shift that's been brewing over the past several decades.
所以为什么单身女性现在更加快乐呢？因为这是美国人历史上首次开始真正打破那种“单身女性就是孤独的老处女，单身男性就是充满冒险精神的单身汉”的说法，这是一项十分浩大的工程。据德克萨斯理工大学人类发展和家庭研究部门的副教授Dana Weiser博士所述：过去几十年一直都在酝酿一场重大的文化改革，这一趋势就是改革的一部分。
Historically, women needed marriage if they wanted to have sex or have children the culturally acceptable way. But for the first time, relationships have started to come with a longer list of limitations than advantages for women. "There's still a lot of burden that's placed on women when they're in romantic relationships, especially if sharing a household. Obviously relationships can be great, but we still see quite a bit of gender division when it comes to household duties and childcare responsibilities," says Weiser.
历史上，从文化接受角度来看，女性只有结婚后才能有性生活或生孩子。但史上第一次，情感关系为女性带来的局限性要比好处多得多。“女性在谈恋爱时，仍然面临着很多的压力，尤其是住在同一屋檐下时。显然，谈恋爱是件美好的事情，但当提到家务活谁干孩子谁带等问题时，仍然还是有很大的性别分工情况，” Weiser说道。The shockingly small number of women who make it all the way up the corporate ladder evidences that burden. In 2015, 45 percent of entry-level jobs were held by women, according to the latest data from and McKinsey's Women In The Workplace study. But the number of women in the workplace starts to drop off as responsibilities outside the office heat up - at the C-suite level, only 17 percent of positions are held by women.
成功提升自己在公司地位的女性只有很少一部分，这一令人吃惊的数字证实了这一压力。2015年，LeanIn组织和麦肯锡职场女性研究的最新数据显示：入门级的职位中45%都是女性职员。但由于女性在家庭事务中的责任增多，因此职场女性的人数开始减少——最高管理层中女性只占17%。
