If you Google "Spinster", one of the first results is an article titled "Is it possible to be a HAPPY spinster?" and though that might sound like something written around 1846, it was actually published in June 2015. To call someone a spinster is to define them by their age and their marital status, neither of which are any of your business. If a woman chooses to call herself a spinster then that's her prerogative but is a word most commonly wedged between "sad" and "aunt" one we want to spend energy reclaiming? The classic argument against "spinster" is that it has depressing connotations, whereas "bachelor" (the male equivalent) sounds cool and James Bond-esque. But that might not even be true anymore. The idea of a "bachelor pad" these days brings to mind recently divorced miserable dudes in their mid-40s so that's probably not a linguistic bandwagon worth jumping on. Perhaps we can get rid of all words that immediately describe someone's relationship status as though it's something the world needs to know. "Crazy cat lady" can stay though, as long as we start using it as the compliment it so clearly is. Who's cooler than the person with loads of cats in their house and a distinctly IDGAF attitude about it?
Brydie is an Australian writer and performer living in London and she complains exactly the same amount about the weather as every other Australian living in London. Yes, that is her natural lip colour, no, she will not be taking any further questions at this time.
