But statistics are slippery, and "young never-married women" do not necessarily mean Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte. Haven't I -- a woman whose life sounds on paper like it might resemble theirs -- spent the better part of a decade explaining to loved ones that no one I know has that much sex, that much money, or one of those large ball gowns made of feathers? But I bet that even given those (quite serious) distinctions, my friends and I have a lot more in common with the "SATC" girls than most Americans. What about all those technically single women in long-term live-in partnerships? What about lesbians? (No, not the ones on "The L Word.") What about rural and suburban single women, non-professional wage-earners, the middle and working classes, minorities and immigrants? Could it be that reporters are taking compelling statistics and turning them into their own wet dream of a target demographic?

Probably. But the "Sex and the City Voter" -- or her nearest real-life approximation, the urban professional single woman -- does exist. When I got in touch with people who specialize in thinking about, marketing to, writing of, and otherwise engaging single urban women, I expected flip, funny responses to the question of how to woo them to the polls: sample sales at the polling places? Gift bags? Hey, don't think I wasn't thinking it myself. But whether the statistics tell the whole story, those who make their living understanding women like me were worried about my peers' disconnection from the political process. Why is it that we -- better educated, better employed, and the beneficiaries of the serious gender politicking of our forebears -- aren't interested in making our electoral voices heard?

"The reality is that politically, not much is geared toward single women," said Candace Bushnell, whose newspaper column "Sex and the City" ran in the New York Observer and was later adapted into the HBO series. "A lot of single women wonder what men even have to offer them -- almost like they live in a different world. Single women tend to live in a world that's largely about women." And it's not as though there are any women running for president. In fact, Bushnell pointed out, the only visible single women on the political horizon are thin pundits like Ann Coulter and Laura Ingraham. "Why are they all Republicans?" asked Bushnell incredulously. "Maybe the Democrats need to look into this."

Bushnell added that the shark- (and leech-) infested waters of today's dating pool have also left single girls distrustful of guys who appear on their televisions, bearing promises of tax cuts and an end to terrorism. "A lot of single women in their 20s and 30s will say they've been disturbed by male dating behavior, and now they don't really trust men," said Bushnell. And it's not just that our political options remind us of dud paramours; it's that -- with the exception of the mesmerizing Bill Clinton -- presidential candidates tend to have the look and feel of our fathers. "They represent the rigid kind of male authority that single women have basically been fighting against their whole lives. And it's that male authority that has proven to be in their experience intrinsically false and suspicious," Bushnell said.

All of our presidential choices are, literally, fathers and husbands, Bushnell noted, anxious to tell us what they're going to do for the American family. It's not a message likely to warm the hearts of unmarried young women who have never considered home ownership, the marriage tax, buying a car, sending children to school, or "investing" their money -- they're just hoping it stays in their bank account long enough to keep the rent check from bouncing. Smeal agreed on this point. "The issues being emphasized are issues of the 'traditional family.' Even the Democrats who feel they're more liberal talk about families all the time," she said. "Who are they really talking about? I think they are still picturing the Cleavers: June and Ward and the two boys."

Smeal said that this particular shortcoming unites the never-married with their older, divorced or widowed sisters, who may have adult children and feel equally invisible to politicians who speak only to young growing families. "We see these two males both dragging around the perfect wife," said Smeal. "This is not a picture of [single women's] lives and they don't trust it. They probably look at that image and figure that he's running around on the side. They've seen life. They don't buy the storybook. But the storybook just doesn't seem to change!"

Recent Stories