You don't have to settle
正文
'You don't have to settle': the joy of living (and dying) alone
“你不必将就”：独自生活（和终老）的乐趣
Data confirms that more women have begun to realize that there are far worse things than dying alone. CNN reports that there "are more single working women than ever," and by 2030, "45% of working women aged 25 to 44 in the United States will be single".
有数据证实，已经有越来越多的女性开始意识到，还有远比孤独终老更糟糕的事情。美国有线电视新闻网报道称，“现在单身的职业女性比以往任何时候都多，”而且到 2030 年，“美国 22-44 岁的职业女性中，将有 45%是单身”。
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More women are foregoing marriage and motherhood. This new status quo frustrates men who feel entitled to female companionship, such as angry male "incels"("involuntary celibates").
现在有越来越多的女性放弃婚姻以及母亲这个身份。这种新常态，让那些认为自己有权得到女性陪伴的男性感到沮丧，例如那些愤怒的男性“非独者”（“非自愿独身者”）。
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While trying to explain the danger of incels to my mother, I was surprised to hear her say, "Well, they’re not entirely wrong." Realizing my horror, she went on to explain that women used to need a man to survive. That led to a lot of bad marriages and deterred divorces.
我在试着向我的母亲解释“非独者”（所带来）的危险时，我惊讶地听到她说：“嗯，他们并不完全是错的。”在意识到了我的恐惧后，她继续解释说，女性过去曾需要男性来生存，这就导致了许多糟糕的婚姻，也（使许多人）对离婚望而却步。
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So I owe a big thank you to my mom. She’s never pressured me to get married. But the main reason I owe her thanks is because she’s never minded going to dinner by herself. Until I grew older I didn’t realize such a small act was actually strangely politically subversive.
因此我非常感谢我的妈妈。她从未催过我结婚。但我感激她的最主要原因，是她从不介意自己独自吃饭。直到我长大了才意识到，这一小小的举动，实际上具有一种不寻常的、带有政治意义的颠覆性。
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For so long, society has perpetuated the stigma that you need someone by your side to be seen as whole. But more women are dismantling this stigma. They are finally deciding that being alone isn’t the same as being lonely.
长期以来，社会上持续有这样一种耻辱性观念：有人在你身旁，你才能被视作一个完整的人。不过，越来越多的女性正在动摇这一观念，她们终于明白独处和孤独并不是一回事。
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That’s not to say women shouldn’t marry and have children. It is to say women should feel empowered to do so, only if they truly want to and with partners who are worthy of them, who champion and nurture their success, not hold them back or drag them down. More women are embracing that message, and that could ultimately do more for women’s equality than any government policy ever will.
这并不意味着女性不应该结婚生子，而是在说女性应该在这件事上有自主权——只有在她们真正愿意的情况下，而且是同那些与她们相配的、支持并扶助她们成功的伴侣一起（结婚生子），而不是那些阻碍她们、给她们拖后腿的伴侣。有越来越多的女性欣然接受了这一观点，这最终会比任何政府政策为女性平等所做的都多。
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主编：木子
品控：毛西、Amber
审核：Jack
重点词汇
forego
/fɔːrˈɡoʊ/
v. 放弃（令人愉悦之物）
词义辨析：forego, give up
两者都表示“放弃”，give up 是普通用词，使用场景相对广泛；而 forgo 特指放弃令人感到愉快的事物。
例句：I decided to forego dessert.
文化补充：较 forego 而言，forgo 是更为常见一些的拼写方式。
status quo
/ˌsteɪ.t̬əs ˈkwoʊ/
n. 现状
英文释义：the present situation
搭配短语：to defend / maintain the status quo
be entitled to (do) sth.
有权利做某事
相关词汇：entitle（v. 给予权利）
相关词汇：title（n. 头衔；职位）
词根词缀：en-（构成动词）
例句：Everyone's entitled to their own opinion.
例句：Daniel is entitled to a free bottle.
companionship
/kəmˈpæn.jən.ʃɪp/
n. 情谊
相关词汇：companion（n. 同伴）
词根词缀：-ship（表示状态或性质）
英文释义：the pleasant feeling that you have when you have a friendly relationship with somebody and are not alone
involuntary
/ɪnˈvɑː.lən.ter.i/
adj. 非自愿的
相关词汇：volunteer（n. 志愿者）
相关词汇：voluntary（adj. 自愿的）
词根词缀：in-（表示否定）
celibate
/ˈsel.ə.bət/
n. 独身者；禁欲者
deter
/dɪˈtɝː/
v. 阻挠，阻止；威慑
英文释义：to make somebody decide not to do something, especially by making them understand the difficulties and unpleasant results of their actions
owe sth. to sb.
欠某人某物；应该给予某人某物
相关词汇：owe（v. 欠）
例句：I owe you one.
同义词：owe sb. sth.
例句：I owe you an apology.
subversive
/səbˈvɝː.sɪv/
adj.（尤指对现有政治体制）有颠覆性的
perpetuate
/pɚˈpetʃ.u.eɪt/
v. 使持续；使长存，使永恒
英文释义：to make something such as a bad situation, a belief, etc. continue for a long time
例句：Patriarchy perpetuates the myth that 'boys don't cry'.
例句：This system perpetuated itself for several centuries.
stigma
/ˈstɪɡ.mə/
n. 耻辱；（尤指不公正的）恶名
例句：There is no longer any stigma to being divorced.
dismantle
/dɪˈsmæn.t̬əl/
v. 拆解；解散；废除
搭配短语：dismantle the engine
例句：The old regime was dismantled.
empower
/ɪmˈpaʊr/
v. 给（某人）做…的权力；使自主
词义辨析：empower, entitle
empower 表示给某人做某事的权力，强调 power，以及一种自主性；而 entitle 表示给某人做某事的权利，强调 right，使人有做某事的资格。
英文释义：to give somebody more control over their own life or the situation they are in
champion
/ˈtʃæm.pi.ən/
v. 支持，捍卫
词性拓展：champion（n. 冠军；卫士，捍卫者）
词义辨析：champion, support
两者都可表示“支持”，support 是一个普通用词，而 champion 则多了一层捍卫信仰、原则或者权利等抽象事物的含义。
搭配短语：to champion the rights of the disabled（捍卫残疾人的权益）
nurture
/ˈnɝː.tʃɚ/
v. 扶助；培养
英文释义：to help a person to develop and to be successful
hold sb. back
妨碍某人
相关词汇：hold（v. 抓住）
drag sb. down
使某人（地位、水平等）下降
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