Experiences of Singlehood and Singlism Among Malaysian Professionals: Negotiation and Coping Strategies

In the Malaysian society, the trend of singlehood is becoming more evident with increasing numbers of delayed marriages, non-marriages, and divorces. As marriage is regarded as a standard transition to adulthood, those who remain single are often perceived as social misfits and subjected to singlism. The research explores single professional women’s and men’s gendered experiences of singlehood and singlism as well as the strategies they use to negotiate singlism. Using qualitative in-depth interviews with 15 women and 15 men recruited through purposeful sampling, this research examines how these individuals perceive and experience their single status. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings show that singlehood is perceived positively by single people but negatively by the society. These negative social perceptions, in turn, influence the participants’ experiences of singlehood. The findings also reflect that single people adopt strategies that demonstrate high self-esteem to cope with singlehood and to negotiate singlism.