Explaining Singleness

• In Event: 3523 - Family Section Refereed Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 min): Table 10: Marriage, Intimate Relationships, and Singleness

Abstract

Despite increasing rates of singleness, little is known about how people account for the singleness of others. This study uses an experiment to examine how explanations for singleness vary by the race and gender of the single person. We find explanations of singleness are primarily structured by the gender of the single person. Although there are some accounts of singleness that are more likely to be assigned to women, generally men are afforded more agency over their singleness than women. The race of the dater has limited effect on perceptions of why people are single. Additionally, we find that accounts of singleness are related to expectations of future dating success and willingness to deploy social resources on a single person’s behalf. When singleness is viewed as being in a person’s control, subjects are less optimistic about the person’s dating prospects and are less willing to give them access to their social network through a set up. Yet, even after controlling for agency over singleness, female profiles are more likely to be setup than male profiles. We argue that a gendered dating script that attributes agency to men and passivity to women is the primary driver of explanations of singleness.

Authors

• Corey D. Fields, Georgetown University

• Emily Fitzgibbons Shafer, Portland State University