Rachel Connolly has it the wrong way round when she suggests that one problem with heterosexuality is that women unrealistically expect men to fulfil a complete spectrum of emotional needs and desires (Social media is awash with ‘heteropessimism’. Do young women really think so poorly of men?, 31 March). As many surveys have shown – most recently in a study by Humboldt University – straight men are more likely to be dependent on their female partners and cope worse after separation or divorce.
Connolly suggests that online statements of “heteropessimism” are not being acted on, but Office for National Statistics figures from 2023 show a continuing increase in single households of all ages – a phenomenon that has persisted over the last few decades despite increasing social precarity, spiralling housing costs and what the US sociologist Bella DePaulo describes as the “singles tax” – the financial disadvantage incurred by those who live alone or are unmarried.
