Focus: Singles versus the married

Your spouse should be your best friend is what most believe and a few practise. The issue of the singles versus the married does elicit interesting responses, as is seen from the debate this week.

While the majority think that singles are welcome to mingle with couples, single people do become targets for blind dates. It is also good to know that with time, our thought processes, too, have matured and single women are no longer looked upon as home breakers.

In fact, they are welcomed as warmly as married women. Send in your views to readers@gulfnews.com.

Married couples dislike having single people in their groups.

No, I don't think there should be any preference when it comes to friends. As far as I am concerned, though I am married, we like having single people in our group.
– Karim Shakra
Dubai

I think it depends on the attitude of the single person. If the attitude were right, then couples wouldn't have any problem. When you go out as a group, you don't need to stand out because you are single. I think that singles are the ones who would want to mingle around as compared to couples, so it is not a problem.
– Mrinalini Singh
Dubai

Coming from the Canadian perspective, I would say no. I think it is good to have a mix of singles and couples. It makes the group more interesting and makes for different opinions. I am married, but we do have singles in our group.
– Alana Lapirre
Dubai

No, personally speaking, I don't think so. Although, when I was single, my friends excluded me but I have no such problems. I think that when couples have singles around, it brings in a lot of energy, which doesn't happen when you are married. So having singles around helps.
– Ezgi Umultan
Dubai

Being single makes you a target for blind dates.

I think it does because you are unattached. There are girls who would want to go on a blind date because they think single men can spend more, as they do not have any other responsibilities. Some would target them because they like to meet different kinds of people.
– Mohammad R.
Sharjah

Maybe. There could be many reasons for this — in Italy, singles are targeted because of their status. It could also be because singles lead a different life, they have more time on hand and would like to meet new people.
– Luca Albiero
Italy

I will have to say yes to this because when I was single I did experience this. It happens and it happens for different reasons, but mainly I think because it is perceived that single men can spend more of both, time and money.
– Antonio Frasson
Italy

Yes and very often at that. And I don't think it makes any difference as far as the age is concerned. I think it happens because when people divorce late, they find it hard to get back in the swing of things, at the same time, those who are divorced would be keen to get the experience of another person's company
– David Graham
Dubai

Older, single women are perceived with suspicion by society.

Yes, people do look at them with suspicion but I think that is because of the general belief that a woman, especially an older woman, should be married. It is also people think that if a woman has been single, then there must be something wrong with her, although, personally, I don't have any issues with women who are single.
– Naomi N.
Dubai

Yes. I think this attitude is because of the male dominated society that we live in where it is okay for a man to remain unmarried because he has been working towards a career but if the woman were to do the same, it is not acceptable. Partly, it is also because of the belief that a woman looks good in her home, with her family.
– Medha Mukundan
Abu Dhabi

I wouldn't agree. I think it depends on cultural values and the individual. One should not be making generalisations in these cases. Judgements on people should be passed on their behaviour, attitude and the individual; otherwise it's being unfair to the person.
– Cynthia Ogilvy
Dubai

No, I don't agree to this. Although, this perception might exist, I don't think this is a valid one as women today are choosing not to get married for a number of reasons and also because they have more choices today. This old fashioned attitude does not have a place in today's educated society.
– Catherine C.
Dubai

Older, single men are stereotyped as "playboys".

I never had such an experience nor have I ever been stereotyped. I think the label of a playboy would be tagged based on the person's behaviour and attitude.
– Sam Al Hussaini
Palestine

Yes, I think they are. It could be because of the kind of attitude they have apart from the fact that they do not have any responsibilities. The fact that single men also do not have emotional stability could be another reason and not to add that this is the general perception that people have.
– Khaldoon Al Sa'adi
Dubai

Can't say that for sure. I don't think they should be stereotyped because it is possible that they couldn't get married as they were busy working and didn't have time for a family life. I think it depends from person to person and one should not generalise. Men may be single simply because they are not interested in getting married or because they do not want to commit.
– Mohammad Kashwani
Sharjah

I would agree. Mainly because of the general belief that people have that if a man is single for long, then it could be because he is the playboy type. Then again, it would depend from person to person.
– Osama Murshed
Yemen