I am proud to be a spinster. Anyone who reads the word “spinster” on my blog and sees it as pejorative is reading their own negative meaning into it. I use the word “spinster” the same way I use the word “bachelor.” Here is the official definition:
spinster – an unmarried woman past the common age of marriage.
Yes, I – at the age of 39 and a half – am a spinster. Now I know many of you will want to tell me about ALL the women who get married after age 35, but let’s stick to the definition: a spinster is past the COMMON age of marriage. I’d say the common age of marriage in the U.S. is below the age of 30. So I’ve been a spinster for a while. Yay, me!
Here are a couple of examples of how I conceptualize spinsterhood. Go to http://www.myspace.com/reginarodriguez to hear “Solterona” which is Spanish for “spinster.” Maybe I’ll also post the lyrics in case you can’t access the songs I’ve uploaded there (I can’t access the songs I’ve uploaded on MySpace!).
And here is my favorite poem:
Spinster
Underneath piles of wedding lingerie,
dented brass dreams, rusted with disappointment,
Under faded images of strong, handsome men with
perfect teeth
and silvery lace dusted with loneliness,
I find
quivering flesh, new and wet,
excited to grow and stretch into its glory,
free of fingerprints, collars or gold-band chain links
free to spill wonderful, wingspan possibilities
all over the horizon,
leaving admirers behind.
© Regina Rodriguez December 2003
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