Singlism: How business and the state discriminate individuals
FEBRUARY 14 IS APPROACHING, AND TOGETHER WITH IT ANIMATED FEELING OF IMPLICITYwhich is supposed to be experienced by all who happened to be without a pair at this time. Public pressure is heating up to the limit - and here people, even quite happy without a romantic relationship, for some reason are buying a large package of ice cream, turn on a bad romk and seem to grow gloomy by evening.
In fact, the halo of "inferiority" hangs over the loners constantly. Some sociologists even talk about a special kind of discrimination - singlism (from the English "singlism"). As it turned out, it manifests itself not only in unpleasant matters at family dinners and a sense of ridiculous melancholy on Valentine's Day, but also at the institutional level. We understand how lonely deprive the tax, insurance companies, social programs and, of course, public attitudes.
Being lonely is expensive
"The main argument of supporters of same-sex marriages is: why do you need to be a certain couple so that you are treated fairly? My argument is broader: why do you need to be paired in principle, so that you are treated as fairly as other citizens?" - says professor of social psychology, activist and author of the book "Singled out" Bella De Paulo. She and her supporters actively think about the obsession of modern society on relationships and their institutional advantages, considering prejudices against single people as another type of discrimination.
Studies show that people really believe in the prejudices associated with single people. For example, De Paolo and her colleagues interviewed 950 students and found out that 49% of them automatically described married people as kind, sacrificial, and caring (singles deserved such a characteristic only in 2% of the answers). About 32% called married people "loving", while no one used this adjective in relation to single people. Another German study showed that lonely people are more often perceived as dissatisfied with life, less attractive, more neurotic, but more free-thinking.
A single woman who earns 40 thousand dollars a year loses 500 thousand dollars for a life, and earning 80 thousand dollars a year - more than a million
These stereotypes are practiced. For example, a single American earns on average 26% less than a married man (to say the least about single women). And the surveyed landlords rent homes to couples more readily than to single people, and do not consider this discrimination. It is important for businesses to sell their services to as many people as possible, so discounts for partners have already become familiar, which angered activists: "Automotive and health insurance companies often offer a reduced price for married people, while single people pay for these discounts," De paulo Often this discrimination is not so noticeable - for example, some hotels set equivalent prices for rooms for one and two guests, airlines periodically make discounts for flights together, the gyms offer reduced prices for tickets. Although much more honest would be the inclusive policy of "leading a friend - get a discount."
Single people pay more and receive less privileges from the state. According to a simple study by The Atlantic, in which journalists examined the cost of living for married and unmarried women in accordance with current American laws, a single woman who earns 40 thousand dollars a year loses 500 thousand dollars for a living, and who earns 80 thousand dollars a year million.
Laws for two
There are laws in almost every country, for example, in the United States there are more than a thousand. Here and social benefits that are transferred to a person after the death of a partner, the opportunity to get a day off for the care of a sick spouse and subsidies for joint purchase. In the UK, married people have paid less tax since 2015. If one spouse earns less than the subsistence minimum (11 thousand pounds per year), and the second - no more than 43 thousand per year, the family can return about 220 pounds per year from the taxes paid.
Married people enjoy legislative privileges in Russia. For example, they do not pay a 13% gift tax on even very expensive property and are heirs of the first stage. If one of the two spouses had a higher pension, then after his death, the other person can receive it, having registered the loss of the breadwinner. Benefits intended for veterans, after their death are transferred to their husbands and wives. "Spouses of military personnel enjoy a number of privileges, such as the preemptive right to work in state institutions. Even if they wish, they are given leave on certain dates with a partner," she says.
Married people enjoy legislative privileges in Russia. For example, they do not pay a 13% gift tax on even very expensive property and are heirs of the first phase.
In Russia, programs to support childbirth have already been introduced for a dozen years, which for many people have mixed feelings, but childless couples have the right to partially subsidized housing, for example, under the program Providing Housing for a Young Family. For this you need to prove the need for living space, as well as solvency. “The difference is that 30% of the cost of housing is covered by families without children, and 35% with children. In addition, spouses must be less than 35 years old,” says Svetlana Krivobokova.
She also notes that in some regions of the country they periodically introduce lump-sum payments to young couples after marriage, for example, to students, however, this initiative has never worked at the federal level. The same regions periodically pay supplements to their pensions for the time they have been married. “It was rumored that a pension would be raised for thirty years in a marriage — this is not true, but some regions pay extra money for fifty to seventy years in a marriage,” Krivobokova said.
New families
Many countries have already introduced or plan to introduce (for example, like Russia) a civil partnership, in which people will not necessarily enter into marriage in order to enjoy all the privileges. So we are talking not only about the desire to preserve the institution, which is obviously in crisis, but about trying to give stability to monogamous relations. Activists, in turn, propose to think about new forms of unions, where romance and monogamy will cease to be at the forefront - so that, for example, you can get into intensive care with a close friend.
The number of people who do not want to marry or relationships is growing rapidly: for example, in Stockholm only one person lives in 50% of homes and apartments, and in the US more than 45% of adult Americans are not married. All this does not mean that they have no relatives, friends, sexual partners and just people who are no less important than their spouses. Gradually, traditional marriage (both de facto and civil) will become not the only, but one of the possible forms of unions, and the state will have to adapt to this.
Photo: nerudol - stock.adobe.com, Katya Havok - stock.adobe.com
