Fewer or more Bachelors in Ireland?

Dickie10

interesting topic this, in a two mile radius of me there are 8 bachelor farmers rangeing in age from 38-65. there were ten up to a few years ago but these two men met women and had children at age 38 and 47 respectivley. Im just wondering when does one reach bachelor age?

when do u go from being a single guy to a bachelor? im 32 and part time farming, im single or am i a bachelor? i suppose i will have to include myself among these 8 men now, is this a very high rate for a two mile radius? i have been getting suspicous looks lately as to my sexual preference because i havent been ever in a relationship with a girl, i think this is quite unfair, i never imagined people would ever even think this way, i wonder why people think this?
its usually people who are married or settled with a partner, its very rare that a single person asks me if im single or not?

libelula

So many questions

recylingbin

if you have road frontage, you'll be grand.

conorhal

I don't think it's just a country phenomenon. I remember somewhere there was an article that said the fastest growing household type in Ireland is single occupancy. The 2011 census indicated that there are now 392,000 one-person households in Ireland. Of course that doesn't imply 'single people', but an increecing number of us are living alone, which makes you wonder what the social consequences of this might be.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Any single adult male is a bachelor.

Plenty of older bachelors around here. I am friendly with 4 in our rural area and 3 in town. Nobody seems to think much of it to be honest. Likewise many single ladies here ( I dislike the term spinster) most of whom are late 40s or early 50s. Indeed one office I visit has 11 middle aged ladies and 4 are single.

pappyodaniel

There's quite a high ratio of bachelors in the farming community.

I wonder is there a link between being single and having private play time with livestock?

Mother Brain

I'm a Heinz man myself.

Omackeral

Mother Brain wrote: »

I'm a Heinz man myself.

That's bean done to death.

Mother Brain

Omackeral wrote: »

That's bean done to death.

If the shoe fits!

biko

There is no difference between being a single male and a bachelor. They mean the same thing.

Well, strickly speaking a bachelor is a "man who is not and has never been married."

Mother Brain

Dickie10 wrote: »

i have been getting suspicous looks lately as to my sexual preference because i havent been ever in a relationship with a girl, i think this is quite unfair, i never imagined people would ever even think this way, i wonder why people think this?
its usually people who are married or settled with a partner, its very rare that a single person asks me if im single or not?

It's just a social or cultural norm really. Nothing to be caring too much about if I were you. You're your own man, don't let anyone put you down for not rushing to conform to what's "expected of you" like they've done.

Dickie10

nah just actually interested to see what people thoought, i did sociology for a year in university, and we did a module that looked at rural ireland from the 1930s to 1970s. these social changes or unchanges do have a profound effect on rural societies because of the lack of fluidty in population migrating into rural areas. i know three families that have now become "bred out" from the siblings being unmarried that remained in the area. actually if i move my radius to 3 miles i just remebered about 6 other bachelor farmers, one house containg 4 unmarried brothers.

if there are any older rural bachelors on here or siblings idd love to know how these men dont end up being married, if marriage is such a big next step as society likes to push or are there a lot more asexual people in society than we like to acknowlodge.?

Brian from Bray

Whats so great about marriage ?

The Corinthian

biko wrote: »

There is no difference between being a single male and a bachelor. They mean the same thing.

Well, there is really. Being a single 18-year old male hardly conjures up the image of a bachelor, does it?

Basically a bachelor is a man who is of an age where he should have settled down with a woman but hasn't. Maybe he hasn't met the right one. Maybe he doesn't want to. Ultimately he hasn't.

And it's very contextual; dependent on the society he lives in. Being single at 30 is not going to make you seen as a bachelor in Ireland, where people marry later, but it will in somewhere like Pakistan. Even being married may be optional - cohabiting may be sufficient if it's been long enough.

So while strictly speaking any unmarried man could be defined as a bachelor, we don't think of bachelors like this. We see a bachelor is a man who is of an age where he should have settled down with a woman but hasn't.

Are there fewer or more in Ireland? I don't know - how many bachelors used there be in Ireland?

Dickie10

i supose we wont call a bachelor a man cohabiting with his partner, for this purpose i mean men over 35 without a significant other. intersting to see francis brennan say he believed he was asexual in sundays independent, is this more common than we think? or are rural irish men really more solitary creatures, has their environment a part to play? are they overly conservative in that they wont cohabit or be seen to have a partner and not get married?

The Corinthian

Dickie10 wrote: »

if there are any older rural bachelors on here or siblings idd love to know how these men dont end up being married, if marriage is such a big next step as society likes to push or are there a lot more asexual people in society than we like to acknowlodge.?

Probably not. Asexuality or homosexuality may be a factor. Divorce is another factor because this can result in the loss of one's farm if it happens, which would likely cause many farmers to think twice about marriage. And fewer people want to become farmers - let alone farmer's wives. Then there's the question of rural depopulation, with young people migrating to the cities, especially when they're not in line to inherit their own farm (as women will tend not to do). And it's easier for men to get the benefits of a relationship outside of marriage. I suspect there's a number of reasons.

As to perceptions of asexuality, this is a separate issue really. If you've not been (seen) with girlfriends in the past people are more likely to think that you're homosexual than asexual, but mainly because asexuality is still a pretty alien concept to most. Many don't think it even exists.

Mother Brain

My own guess is that it's probably more down to urban migration, perhaps especially so amongst women from rural areas. Don't get me wrong, not saying "it's women's fault!" but it makes more intuitive sense to me that the reality of what women from rural backgrounds can expect from life has changed vastly over a generation or two (which is a good thing!) whereas farming males possibly feel a greater burden to keep the family business going, or may just feel generally more tied to the land than perhaps women are?

Women are the more socially sensitive sex and have probably adapted quicker to the rapid changes we've had in the last 30-40 years than the males possibly too. I get the feeling from having read a number of pi and farming threads that a lot of guys struggle both to meet, and to connect with women in their area for a number of reasons.

In any case It's kind of sad in a way, the loss of much of entire way of life over the course of a lifetime basically. I know it's a global phenomenon amongst developed/ing countries but still.