With the advent of the “New Woman” in the late 19th century, England and America saw a resurgence of empowered women. They smoked, rode bikes, went to college, and said no to marriage proposals. And so, a new type of sisterhood emerged: bachelor girls. Bachelor girls were eligible, career-focused women in their 20s, 30s, and 40s who chose not to marry, and refused to be called spinsters or old maids. They might change their minds if the right man came around, but they would rather focus on their careers and their friendships with one another than wait around for their prince to come. On this minisode, we look at a history of the spinster stereotype and how that evolved into bachelor girls. We also read clips from newspapers in the 1890s and early 1900s to paint a picture of what bachelor girls were and get a sense of how their contemporary society viewed them. To learn more about bachelor girls, make sure to follow us @sistoryuntold on Instagram and Twitter. Check out our blog for sources on sistoryuntold.com

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