Single Parents Are Sexy, Too!

For all of its ridiculous moments*, last night's episode of The Bachelor made us realize one thing: the single parent experience is growing increasingly mainstream. Jason, the bachelor and single dad in question, has 10 remaining women on the show; two of them are single mothers, and all of them are crazy for his divorced self.

The latest US census showed single parent homes have held steady at around 9 percent of all households for the past fifteen years. Meanwhile, the increase in popularity of online dating and the prevalance of divorce have made dating with children a common occurrence. In our not-so-distant past, unmarried or divorced parents risked facing judgment from the state, society and religious institutions.

A 2002 Dayton Business Journal article looked at the workplace discrimination single parents face, often losing promotions or job opportunities because of their status.

Before any warm fuzzies are handed out, you're booted out of the office building. Why? Because this business doesn't hire single moms. They're too much trouble. They take a lot of time off work and make the company's health insurance premiums skyrocket.

As some have pointed out that black-positive TV shows like The Cosby Show, and celebrities like Oprah, helped pave the way for President Barack Obama to be elected, so, too, might be the case for single parents. The uphill battle that singles fight is not in the same league as the challenges of the civil rights movement. But, shows like Brothers & Sisters, Two and a Half Men, and this season of The Bachelor might continue altering our country's subconscious so that employers, lenders, and potential dates associate even fewer red flags with divorced or single moms and dads.

The Brady Bunch showed that remarried families were just like all the others—but billed Mike as a widower and left Carol's past ambiguous. Parents who are single for other reasons need their cultural icons, too.

*Specifically, the "group date" involved the women casting their breasts out of plaster to raise money for breast cancer research. Will next season of The Bachelorette have men performing a similar activity for prostate or testicular cancer? Our guess is... no.