I have always found it exasperating that people who are single are so rarely recognized as one of the groups subject to prejudice, stereotyping, stigmatizing, and discrimination. I also find it disappointing that most DEI programs (diversity, equity, and inclusion) are not all that inclusive when it comes to single people. In academia, scholars have become increasingly attentive to matters of “intersectionality” – the ways that different forms of discrimination intersect to create unique experiences. Many isms are recognized – for example, racism, sexism, ageism, classism, ableism, and heterosexism – but singlism is typically overlooked.
As the assault on DEI and the hostility toward stigmatized groups has been turbocharged by the current administration, I thought I finally found the silver lining to single people being ignored in those contexts. At least we won’t be attacked or subject to new forms of discrimination.
If only. Earlier this month (February 2025), the Department of Transportation issued a policy memo indicating that all grants, loans, and contracts, including existing ones, should “give preference to communities with marriage and birth rates higher than the national average.” Some policy experts were skeptical (e.g., “It’s hard to know what sort of transportation policy would promote fertility or marriage”) and a congressional aide was disdainful, remarking that the idea was “absolutely creepy.”
Brad Wilcox, however, was all in favor. He’s the director of the National Marriage Project and unsubtle pro-marriage advocate. The cover of his latest book urges Americans to “get married” and thereby “save civilization.” He said that the new directive would “prioritize suburban highway projects, rather than urban public transit” and that would help families. (He didn’t mention, but the HuffPost did, that states with high marriage and birth rates, such as Utah and South Dakota, are “predominantly white states.”)
Ever since the purge of social justice and inclusion programs was initiated, I’ve been staying attuned to specific mentions of single people. But the pain inflicted on single people will also come from other actions that are not specific to them, including much of the purging of jobs and programs and funding under the name of government efficiency (Elon Musk’s DOGE).
For example, if there are cuts to Social Security or health insurance, solo single people will be hurt disproportionately. They cannot access a spouse’s benefits to supplement or replace their own. Huge numbers of federal workers are losing their jobs. Again, for solo single people, their own work is typically their only source of income.
Unmarried Equality is nonpartisan. We would strongly object to these kinds of policies no matter what political parties pursued them.
My particular interest, and the interest of Unmarried Equality, is in people who are single and who are usually overlooked in discussions of the implications of federal policies. But I also despair for everyone who will be suffering.
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[(1) The opinions expressed here do not represent the official positions of Unmarried Equality. (2) I’ll post all these blog posts at the UE Facebook page; please join our discussions there. (3) Disclosure: Links to books may include affiliate links. (4) Photo is by Darren Halstead on Unsplash. (5) For links to previous columns, click here.]
About Bella DePaulo
