Who Knew?: Single Women Have Hots for Uncle Sam! October 2, 2010
Posted by Onely in As If!.Tags: single women voters, Uncle Sam is hot
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Welcome to the latest installment in Onely’s “Who Knew?” series.
I already reamed out Phyllis Schlafly for saying that single women look to Big Goverment to fill the role of the supportive male figure that is (supposedly) lacking in their lives. I thought this was just Schlafly spewing her usual extremist bullhooey, but then I stumbled on SFexaminer pundit Betsy Hart, a self-described “single mom and reliable conservative vote(r)” who thinks the same way, according to her op-ed article
Single ladies look to Uncle Sam to fill a man’s role in their lives
A single mom. A single mom is peddling unhealthy, unhelpful stereotypes of single women as being somehow “lacking” if they don’t have a man with whom they are having sex and financial dealings on a day-to-day basis. A single mom is using the term “single ladies” in an op-ed piece. Who does that?
Small thinkers, that’s who. Here’s Hart’s explanation for why single women tend to vote Democrat (that is, for a supposedly more givey-givey type of government):
. . .we women are built to be cared for by men differently than men are built to be cared for by us. In other words, when we don’t have a husband, we pretty naturally look for a fallback for all kinds of support. Enter Uncle Sam?
. . . the evidence suggests to me, and voting patterns are just one part of this puzzle, that women don’t really want to go it alone at all.
Apparently Ms. Hart doesn’t have a problem with all the married couples who fall back onto Uncle Sam for support in medicare, social security, taxes, and hundreds of other benefits.
Nor does she stop to question that maybe single women are voting for a more liberal, change-minded government not because they want to mooch off that government in order to support themselves more easily, but because they want a change in the social paradigm that will allow them to support themselves as single women so that they are not disadvantaged without a partner–changes such as more accessible daycare; equal pay (only younger women are catching up to men right now); the right to add people of their choice onto their health insurance; and myriads more craaaaazy, taxpayer-mooching ideas. At least, that’s why *I* vote Democrat.
And also, because Uncle Sam is hot.
–Christina
Photo credit: Tijman Stam
Onely.Org 
Notice how she also claims that women are “built” differently than men, and that single women “go it alone” unless they depend on the government. Two more questionable assumptions thrown in just for good measure…
Reading about John Stuart Mill’s position on women’s equality reminded me of this post. He lived about a century ago but it sounds like Hart somehow got stuck in that time… From the Wiki summary of Mill’s “The Subjection of Women:”
“In Mill’s time a woman was generally subject to the whims of her husband and/or father due to social norms which said women were both physically and mentally less able than men, and therefore needed to be “taken care of.” Contributing to this view were social theories, i.e. survival of the fittest and biological determinism, based on a now considered incorrect understanding of the biological theory of evolution and also religious views supporting a hierarchical view of men and women within the family. The archetype of the ideal woman as mother, wife and homemaker was a powerful idea in 19th century society.”
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Subjection_of_Women)
Ah, that explains it. Phyllis is straight out of the 1800s. She looks it, too.
CC
I agree with Allan — there is something interesting about the phrase “go it alone”. I’m certainly not alone. I find support in a myriad of places. I think we all find support where we can get it. What about all the single mothers who are able to receive support of all kinds — emotional, financial, etc — through non government channels?
Also, there are plenty of married women who “go it alone” because their spouse is unsupportive or broke or unparticipatory.
Great points. You should write a letter to Phyllis!!! Except it would probably just waste your time. = )
Polskie reagge
Who Knew?: Single Women Have Hots for Uncle Sam! | Onely: Single and Happy