Single Women - is there still a stigma about them?

As a pupil at a grammar school in the late sixties/early seventies, my friends and I felt so sorry for the single, unmarried teachers. Our Domestic Science teacher, Miss Scarr, was a very attractive woman, even though she had enough hairspray on her hair, that she, like Mrs. Thatcher, would not have had a hair out of place if she found herself in a force nine gale.

Poor woman! (Miss Scarr I mean, not Margaret Thatcher, never Margaret Thatcher).
'Have you got a boyfriend Miss?' 'Do you want to get married?' Would you like children?' 'Are you in love?' and on and on and on.

There were many Misses at my school. Miss Fry, History, Miss Gaye, Maths, Miss Freeman, Latin and Miss Parry, also Latin. The headmistress was a Miss too, Miss Furtado - though her name suggested it, there was nothing of the exotic about her. Mrs Roberts was our English teacher and she was married. She was beautiful, so therefore she was married. Such was our thinking.

There was then, most definitely, a stigma about being unmarried for women. (I'll leave men out of it for now). Is there still a stigma today? I would say yes -yes, despite feminism, more women than men in university and more women in senior roles in politics and business. Still, even now in 2013, women, if they are honest want the whole marriage and children deal. Why is that? Who,or what is it that makes women buy into this? Given the divorce rate, surely women are not in thrall to the Cornflake family.

More thought required...