Sheng nu cites studies that show that women are now breaking the tradition of "mandatory marriage" to have fewer children or marry later on in life. Other typologically similar terms that are still used in the modern lexicon of other countries and cultures show the concept has existed in some cases as far back as the 16th century. The term spinster was used to describe unmarried or single women of a marriageable age. It wasn't until 2004 when the Civil Partnership Act replaced the word spinster with "single" in the relationship history section of marriage certificates in the UK. Subsequently, at the
Same-sex marriage in Mexico and consecutive "amparos", using identical language in each ruling, this creates jurisprudence against that law. This process is called "recurso de amparo". When a same-sex couple is denied the right to marry, they can file an amparo with a court to request that they be allowed to legally marry. Since 2015, the courts have been obliged to rule in favor of same-sex couples seeking marriage certificates. An amparo may be invoked when a person feels their rights have been violated. The process is not expensive, but is "time-consuming". The English word "injunction" can be used to refer to amparos. A