What NZ women think about the 'man drought'?

What do New Zealand women actually think about the ‘man drought’?

In 2013, there were over 66,000 more women between the ages of 25–49 living in New Zealand than there were men. This so-called ‘man drought’ is a hot topic for journalists and academics alike, who comment on how the situation might affect New Zealand women’s chances of finding love. Yet they rarely stop to ask women their own opinions on the matter.

In No Country for Old Maids?, Hannah August does just this, integrating interview material, statistics and cultural commentary to demonstrate how we can, and should, talk differently about the ‘man drought’.

Hannah August, who has a PhD in English Literature from King’s College London, is practised at unpicking the threads that hold together the stories we tell about ourselves.

Here, she sets out to uncover the real lives behind the statistics and the stereotypes. In so doing she has sparked a remarkable response: this is clearly an issue that generates strong, even passionate interest. And by contextualising frank and engaging narratives from unpartnered women within a broader discussion of gender roles and private lives in a digital New Zealand, August challenges a number of prevailing preconceptions.

She also puts pressure on the disquieting way in which women are still ‘spoken for’, in more ways than one. It is not the least of her achievements that by seeking them out and listening to them, the author gives single women back their voices, their stories, and the full human dimensionality of rich and complex lives.

With its highly regarded Texts series, BWB has shown a knack for discovering and championing the confident and searching voices of a talented new generation of non-fiction writers: Andrew Dean, Max Rashbrooke, Shamubeel and Selena Eaqub, to name but a few. Hannah August is a notable addition.

Endorsing this Text as ‘intelligent and humane’ and noting that it ‘illuminates, sometimes uncomfortably, the ways in which our demographics are changing and our attitudes are not’, Man Booker prize-winning author Eleanor Catton concludes: ‘Fortunately, in making the diagnosis, Hannah August has also provided the cure: public intellection that is curious, rigorous and highly relevant to our time.’

No Country for Old Maids? Talking About the ‘Man Drought’ is another rewarding and thought-provoking read from the BWB Texts series. It releases on 7 August.

ENDS

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