This qualitative study explores the experiences of single women in Hong Kong from contextual and developmental perspectives. Thirty single women were interviewed using a feminist approach. The findings of this study indicate that single women face some different but also some similar developmental tasks as do married women. They fulfil developmental tasks of working, establishing friendships and securing accommodation. The women also experience stresses arising from singlehood and from their work. An individual woman's appraisal of the situation was significant in determining whether singlehood or work were or were not stressful. Singlehood, instead of being a problem to a woman, might be regarded as a challenge. Single women in this study reveal that they enjoy their lives outside the confines of marriage. They have social support and their participation in employment has enhanced their social status and independence. The experiences of single women in this study are also closely related to their experiences in the wider social environment: with their family members, friends, colleagues, and church-mates, and in their socio-cultural context. Their perception of the attitude of those in these different parts of the social environment had in one way or another, significantly affected how they felt about themselves as single women and how they saw their role in their own family, their work place and their social network. Most of the women perceive the general social attitude toward singlehood to have changed towards being more liberal in Hong Kong nowadays. Not all the women, however, feel well accepted by their immediate social circle or society. Emphasis in this study was also placed on how the single women cope with being single. Patterns and themes identified are illustrated by narrative data.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:343308 |
| Date | January 2001 |
| Creators | Yan, Phyllis Fung Ling |
| Publisher | University of Bristol |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://hdl.handle.net/1983/484e136f-82a3-4d65-b498-3e1e376b76c9 |
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