[New Word Dictionary] Singlism - What's Wrong with Being Alone

Singlism is a term first used by American social psychologist Bella DePaulo in her book, referring to a form of discrimination that idealizes marriage over being single and holds negative prejudices against singles or those who choose not to marry. Illustration by Seongsu Oh, Photo by Seongsu Oh

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] The ‘normal family ideology’ based on marriage between opposite sexes boasts a long history. Even today, the government encourages marriage to increase the birth rate, but the marriage policies of the Joseon Dynasty were implemented more directly and concretely than now. The Gyeongguk Daejeon, the grand code of Joseon, stipulated, “For daughters of the yangban (士族) class who are nearly thirty years old and have not married due to poverty, the Ministry of Rites (禮曺) shall report to the king and provide grain and cloth accordingly. If the family is not impoverished but the daughter remains unmarried after turning 30, the head of the household shall be severely punished.” Especially in Joseon society, where a man’s affiliation was necessary for a normal life according to the Samjongjido (Three Bonds and Five Relationships) norms, women living alone without marriage were regarded as incomplete beings called ‘bulseongin’ (불성인) or ‘doknyeo’ (독녀) and became subjects of state attention. Similarly, ancient Rome mandated marriage when, in 403 BC, the census official Publius Camillus enacted the ‘aes uxorium’ law making marriage compulsory. As time passed and the enforcement of this system weakened, Emperor Augustus revived the ‘Julian Laws on Legitimate Marriage’ in 18 BC, reinstating the bachelor tax to hold young people who avoided marriage and child-rearing financially responsible.

Singlism is a term first used by American social psychologist Bella DePaulo in her book, referring to a form of discrimination where marriage is considered more ideal than being unmarried, and negative prejudice is held against singles or non-marriage advocates. People who exhibit singlism often pity those without partners or spouses and assume there must be some problem behind their unmarried status. Recently, with soaring housing prices, steep inflation, and increasingly difficult employment prospects, non-marriage is rising especially among the younger generation and becoming a social phenomenon. According to the resident registration population statistics released by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety at the end of June 2021, single-person households numbered 9,241,964, accounting for 39.7% of the total population of 51,672,400, marking an all-time high. Accordingly, respecting individual choices in line with changing times and improving social perceptions close to prejudice, such as singlism, is required.

Example

A: Last week, OO went to a wedding, and there were more unmarried guests than married ones.
B: In these tough times, why would anyone want to get married?
A: Still, I’m not against non-marriage, but on the other hand, marriage feels scary and heavy.
B: Look around us, you and I both know the answer. The problem is singlism that views this strangely.
A: Yeah, let’s live well. Just raising myself is already overwhelming!

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.