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Cultural connotations of "single mother"
Thread poster: ahmadwadan.com
Helena Chavarria
Helena Chavarria  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 00:39
Member (2011)
Spanish to English
+ ...
It's difficult to define Jan 19, 2017

When my father died, my two sisters and brother were still living at home, but I'm sure my mother would have been very upset if someone had described her as a single mother.

On the other hand, my youngest daughter isn't married but lives very happily with her partner and their daughter.

All the single mothers I've met have either chosen to bring up a child on their own, or the parents have separated and the father and his family have absolutely no contact with the chil... See more
When my father died, my two sisters and brother were still living at home, but I'm sure my mother would have been very upset if someone had described her as a single mother.

On the other hand, my youngest daughter isn't married but lives very happily with her partner and their daughter.

All the single mothers I've met have either chosen to bring up a child on their own, or the parents have separated and the father and his family have absolutely no contact with the child or its mother. ▲ Collapse
 
Maxi Schwarz
Maxi Schwarz  Identity Verified
Local time: 17:39
German to English
+ ...
"unwed/unmarried" mother doesn't sound right Jan 20, 2017

A single mother is a woman who is not in a conjugal relationship, and is also a mother raising dependent children. I.e. she is "single". "unwed / unmarried" tends to carry the connotation of someone who has not YET (ever) gotten married, and also the old fashioned idea of a woman getting pregnant with being married before marrying anyone - with stigma. I'm not sure that either term is used these days.
A single mother may have been legally married or married in the sense of common law, a... See more
A single mother is a woman who is not in a conjugal relationship, and is also a mother raising dependent children. I.e. she is "single". "unwed / unmarried" tends to carry the connotation of someone who has not YET (ever) gotten married, and also the old fashioned idea of a woman getting pregnant with being married before marrying anyone - with stigma. I'm not sure that either term is used these days.
A single mother may have been legally married or married in the sense of common law, and is no longer married or living together with a spouse, legal or otherwise. She may be divorced, separated, or widowed.

I wonder - does "single father" have any connotations to it? Is it even used much? ▲ Collapse
 
Daryo
Daryo
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:39
Serbian to English
+ ...
before adding anything ... Jan 22, 2017

ahmadwadan.com wrote:

Hello,

I'd like to know whether a "single mother" is:

1. A mother who has kids without marriage.
2. A mother who has kids within a marriage relationship but husband died or abandoned her.
3. Not known whether there was marriage or not.
4. Something else you may add.

Actually I found multiple dictionary definitions that did not define the relationship clearly.

Thank you


Actually, you have to start by taking away any mention of marriage;

However the existence or not of marriage is extremely important where you live, as far as understanding the term "single mother" as used in UK is concerned marriage or no marriage is simply irrelevant.

As Texte Style said, the prevalent stereotypes used and abused by certain sections of the media are:

"a woman who brings unwanted unloved children into the world in order to qualify for council housing and extra benefits, sucking the welfare state dry, rather than earning a living" if she doesn't work and "a woman who leaves her kids to fend for themselves" if she does work.

although it's very far from being applicable to all "single mother", and certainly not to "single fathers". Because of this bad press given "en gros" to all single mothers, many single mothers who should be proud of being single mothers avoid the term like the plague.

As far as "single fathers" are concerned, they are such a minority that as far as I know no one bothered to invent stereotypes or labels to stick on them.
 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
To summarise Jan 23, 2017

ahmadwadan.com wrote:

What I exactly need to know is whether there was/is marriage or not.



It's ambiguous. A single mother may or may not have been married. All we know is that she is a lone parent.
 
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Cultural connotations of "single mother"







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