Catching up with The Single Woman

On the topic of agency and personal identity:

Early on, Reynolds begins to use phrases of an external "other," sometimes labeled society or the culture and sometimes an unidentified dominance, which is somehow responsible for making resources "available" for single women in their self construction. I find myself troubled by the idea that one is "acted upon" in the viewing of herself. Can it be the responsibility of "culture" to assure that each member of the collective has the tools for examining each self? How is this accomplished? Does the inability of a member of a minority group, such as single women, to be able to imagine, view, speak and act in whatever way she wants about her identity mean that this member or group has been "marginalized" by the remainder of the culture?

"If single women are in some way marginalized, this becomes an issue for their presentation of themselves and their conversational practices" (p. 3).

"Singleness is a discourse regulating conduct" (p. 20).

Could it be that rejecting others' views and language is itself the act of identity formation? This seems the most plausible and empowering view to take. Perhaps I need to explore the evolution of the term "marginalization" further to understand the use of this term in so much of our literature.

I appreciate Reynolds' very open reflexivity statements whereby she positions both herself, the single woman, and herself, the researcher of single women. In outlining the purpose and aim of the book, Reynolds tells the reader that "I expect the single identity to be shaped by the wider cultural resources available to the individual woman, her own personal history and the conversational turns suggested the immediate situation" (p. 25). She further states that she is interested in exploring the questions of "What different ways do they [models and types of singleness] offer a woman on her own of understanding her life and her current situation?" (p. 26).

I find problematic the notion that "society" could allow or hinder the identity formation of its members. I further find it troubling to imagine that anyone needs to be offered models or types of others to understand themselves.

I am grateful to Reynolds for the format and flow of her book. This is a wonderful opportunity to examine the researcher's developing thoughts and not just read a review of the materials she read in preparing her study.