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
Bachelor party Bachelor party A bachelor party, also known as a stag party, stag night, stag do, stag weekend (in the United Kingdom, Commonwealth countries, and Ireland), or a buck's night (in Australia) is a party held for the man who is to shortly enter marriage. A bachelor party is usually planned by the groomsman, occasionally with the assistance of a bachelor party planning company. The first references to Western bachelor parties in the Oxford English Dictionary date to the 19th century. Traditionally, bachelor parties involved a black tie banquet hosted by the father of the groom that included a toast in