Verified answer

I believe everyone is supposed to stand and do the slow clap like in 80's movies when they announce that.

I think this issue arises mainly from the whole 'raising a family' thing where really a woman 'needed' to be at home to look the home & children.

Men were then 'forced' to make the money come in to support the household also. But i think there are different 'currencies' in this world that cannot always be centered around money. .E.g. if a man wanted a 'son'..how much would he pay for one?

How much should a woman be payed for 'having a baby' for example if having a family is something you value. Don't even get me started on the house-work issue.

Anyways...making the statement of 'independence' is clearly another way of saying i'm 'not a gold-digger'...alot of women are accused of this..alot of men have tried to impress me in the past by taking out a huge wad of cash..while complimenting me.

I don't know..If i were a gold digger/'prostitute'...i would have been all over him like a rash as he was good looking too..but it turns out i'm shy & a romantic at heart. hahah!:P

I think alot of that issue just stems from the traditional family structures of the past.

Oh in those 'good old day's'.

ur so stupid, it has nothing to do if u can date or not, it simply means that she can support herself financially. She doesnt need a guy to help her with the bills. Woman just say that because even up to this day they are expected to stay home once they have kids and cook and clean and do laundry and all this other BS, dont understand why the men cant do it! And guys dont say they are independent simply because thats what they are supposed to do, and have been doing for centuries.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lPQZni7I18 maybe ull learn something!

I'm sorry but I have to respond to this comment"

"While men may have been "independent for centuries", women have had to earn their independence from the men who oppressed them. In some cases, we're still earning it. Remember, there was a time when some cultures considered women property. There's still some of that today."

Statements llike this is asinine. Both women and men treated each other like property in different ways throughout human existance. Saying that only women were seen as property is recklessly saying that men are the abusers and made women slaves for all eternity. And women have always been saints and victims. Bullsh*t. This immature belief is tired and needs to be put to rest.

And men have been independent for centuries? What crack are you smoking? Try reading history for once and you'll realize that black and jewish men have not always been independent. The person who wrote the statement I quoted above, is a loud example of pure arrogance mixed with ignorance about our actual history. And these are the people of our generation today. Madness.

Now, to answer the actual question, people who have to make a big deal to say how "independent" they are, usually aren't truly independent. Usually they are behaving in the "indepenedent" way they are because someone told them to which could actually go against how they truly want to be, and they follow that person or those peoples rules like a true follower, which is hardly independence.

EDIT:

Sweet Pea - My apologies if I came across as attacking you personally. I'm not attacking you personally. I don't even know you. You could be a great person. What I am attacking is comments that present men as all time abusers of women, and women all time victims of men, which is what your comment comes across as. About how you addressed the question...

...There are ways that you can answer questions by staying true to your knowledge, and also answering the question. You didn't do that. Your first paragraph comes across as you defending women, and presenting men as the abusers, and I am against that. Look at how I answered the question in my last paragraph. I didn't come across as taking a genders side. I instead simply address what the question was about, which is at it's core, about independence. I talked about how human beings behave when flaunting their so called independence because even though the questioner may only see women with this problem, I made it very clear that both sexes have this problem. Which is me being honest and true to my own knowledge on the topic, and also answering the question....

...Bottom line is, if you really feel that men have been seen as property as well, and that not all men have been independent for centuries, you would make that very clear when originally responding.

Again, nothing personal, but I will fight against what appears to be a form of sexism.

EDIT:

Sweet Pea - The fact that you responded and we are both communicating about this positively is awesome! You are awesome! I'm a blunt guy, and I like that we can talk openly about issues. Sometimes we'll agree with each other and sometimes we'll disagree but we can still respect each other and be friends. I'm adding you to my contacts :)

I'm independent, and married. I don't mean it in the sense that I pay my own bills, though, more that I've always relied on myself, and was never needy towards my parents, and now my spouse. I unconsciously try to take care of things myself rather than ask anyone for help.

Have you known a lot of women to announce themselves as independent then? I haven't so it was the use of the word when applied negatively to women who do not wish to marry I was interested in. I feel, like you, that independence is a basic requirement of a human adult and wonder why it is given as the cause of people wanting to stay single. I see you do feel 'independent' is synonymous with being alone (aloneliness as you put it?) while I do not and the majority of the other answerers also see independence as important in a relationship. Can you explain why you feel it goes alongside being alone? Or being a dateless loser?

Edit - what is the song, please. It says its not available in my country.

While men may have been "independent for centuries", women have had to earn their independence from the men who oppressed them. In some cases, we're still earning it. Remember, there was a time when some cultures considered women property. There's still some of that today.

I agree that it's not something to constantly brag about to others though. I'm just not a huge fan of bragging in general. I'd only bring it up if asked or if it were brought up in conversation.

-Jeez "Seeker", didn't mean to start a personal war with you. Just stating my opinion. No need to insult me.

When I wrote that "men have been independent for centuries," I was simply quoting the asker and referring to those women who have had to gain their independence from men. I'm also aware both have been seen as property, but the question was about women who brag, not men. So that's what I addressed.

-"Seeker". Apology accepted. I've read an answer or two of yours and I like them, so I didn't want to feel attacked, that was the vibe I got though.

I didn't intend to make it seem as though only women have been oppressed and only by men, nor to ignore what others have had to face. So yes, I should have been more thorough in my answer.

-Seeker. I agree whole-heartedly. I welcome disagreements and debates. They spark some of the most interesting and intelligent conversations I've ever heard. It's actually fun to disagree with someone who actually has uses. So even though we might have a difference of opinion on some things, it's still great because we both think for ourselves.

Even here on Y!A, I've come across a few answers that make me see things in a completely different light. So I'm always open to hearing opinions and ideas that are different than my own.

Some people feel they need to state that obvious because of insecurity. Nowadays women are taught to be independent. They have to be or else they won't survive.

She could just be stating a fact or she could be tooting her own horn which could be attributed to arrogance really. But that doesn't mean they are losers. When a man who announces he is a gentlemen does that really mean he is a jerk. No it does not it means "Hey ladies I know how to treat a woman let's go on a date." Sometimes it could mean other things but mostly he is just complementing himself.

If I were to say it I would mean I earn my own money and don't automatically expect men to pay for our dates or provide a roof over my head. Apparently many women DO expect these things - at least according to this very forum - so what's the problem in stating that I do not expect them? I don't exactly go around *proclaiming* it.

Ya can't win ...