HK - City of Spinsters
http://thedarkside.hk/2010/12/03/city-of-spinsters/
City of spinsters
Single? Female? Hong Kong resident? Congratulations, you’re officially a spinster, or at least that’s what the government would have you believe.
The Immigration Department’s application for marriage registration blithely invokes the designation under its marital status section, where single women – unless divorced, widowed, subjected to a prior annulment ruling, or sanctified by a Chinese rite ceremony – are left with little option but to select the ol’ “spinster” box.
And what exactly is a Spinster? Merriam Webster characterises them as women that are unlikely to marry, while the Oxford definition describes spinsters as older women beyond the typical age of wedlock. Although both dictionaries go on to describe the term to mean “single woman,” the negative connotations remain palpable, particularly when compared to the male side of the form, which allows for the much more dignified “bachelor” option.
So why exactly would our semi-elected officials choose to disparage single women? A snide remark about the increasingly mature age of female brides perhaps? Another loss in their ongoing battle with the English language? We’re guessing it’s a bit of both. And if you disagree, chances are you’re just an angry spinster. | |
