Uh-oh—did this woman who became the laughingstock of China because of her extremely specific demands for a potential husband realize that moving to New York City for her soul mate search might be ill advised? It seems the Big Apple is actually the United States' top city for unmarried women. WNYC looked at census data and spells it out: "34.8 percent of New York women 15 and over were never married. At the other end of the never married women spectrum was Wyoming, where only 20.7 percent of women have never married. Within New York City those statistics are higher than the state-wide. Never-married women make up 41.7 percent of the population, up from 38.7 percent in 2006. For men, the figures are even more dramatic: 46.7 percent have never been married, up from 43.4 percent in 2006." Singletons, UNITE!
41.7% Of NYC's Women Have Never Been Married
Flashback: NYC Never Had A "Surplus Of Bachelors"
Meet Princeton graduate and 29-year-old bachelor Ebersole Gaines. In 1956, LIFE photographer Yale Joel followed him around New York City for an article in the magazine titled "Memo To The Girls" (you can read it here). He was part of the "surplus of bachelors" around at the time, either dodging or falling into the traps of "husband hunters." Gaines was one of the "highly eligible specimens" featured in the piece; he was a plastics salesman living in New York, and preferred college girls (because, of course he did). MEN.
Reality TV Contestants Tortured By Producers
Not shocking: Reality TV show producers heighten the dramatic potential by leaving copious amounts of alcohol around or depriving contestants of sleep! A NY Times article explores the world of tortured reality TV contestants. Contestants on the 2006 season of The Bachelor said that after waiting many hours for a 12-hour party, "there was little food but bottomless glasses of wine. When producers judged the proceedings too boring, they sent out a production assistant with a tray of shots," with one pointing out, "If you combine no sleep with alcohol and no food, emotions are going to run high and people are going to be acting crazy." Perfect for ratings! And on the 2005-2006 season of Project Runway, with "multiple 18-hour days of shooting," Diana Eng was once very startled by a crew, "One morning they scared me so bad I jumped and screamed. They said that wasn’t good, so I had to pretend to wake up again." A University of Iowa communications studies professor sums it up, "The bread and butter of reality television is to get people into a state where they are tired, stressed and emotionally vulnerable." Hear that, reality TV fans? You might be sadists for watching it! Then again, the contestants might be masochists, so it works out.
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