I was called a Spinster at work today, I was really offended.

Why should whether someone has a partner or not be 'public fact', just because they're female?

Whether or not someone is having a sexual relationship isn't, and shouldn't be 'public'. It's information someone can choose to disclose but if they're going to get called vile slurs just for being single I can see why they'd not bother mention it.

The term "spinster" was officially replaced by "single" on marriage certificates in England and Wales in
December 2005, primarily to modernize registration, remove outdated, gender-specific terminology, and accommodate civil partnerships. Before this change, "spinster" was the legal term for a woman who had never been married, often paired with "bachelor" for men.
Here are the key reasons for the shift from "spinster" to "single" (sometimes interpreted or listed as "not previously married" or "single" in modern records):

• Modernization and Gender Neutrality: The Registrar General of England and Wales deemed "bachelor" and "spinster" to be old-fashioned terms belonging to a "bygone era". "Single" was introduced as a neutral, catch-all term for both men and women.
• Civil Partnership Act 2004: The impetus for the change was the need to make marriage registration consistent with the new civil partnership laws for same-sex couples, which required a neutral term for unmarried status.
• Derogatory Connotations: Over time, "spinster" shifted from a neutral legal term for a woman who spins thread (14th century) to a term implying an older, unmarried woman (18th century onward), often with negative "old maid" connotations.
• Consistency: The new, "blandly bureaucratic" term "single" was adopted to ensure that all marriage and civil partnership records used consistent, modern terminology.

• Before Dec 2005: A woman of any age who had never been married was listed as a "spinster" on UK marriage certificates.
• After Dec 2005: "Single" replaced "spinster," and "single" replaced "bachelor".
• Alternative Terms: If a document seems to say "not stay single" or similar phrasing, it is likely a misreading of "single" or "spinster" (never married), rather than a specific legal phrase, as "single" is the standard replacement.

In Northern Ireland, modern marriage certificates have moved away from outdated terminology. While historically, marriage registers used "spinster" for never-married women and "bachelor" for never-married men, these have been replaced by the neutral term
"single".
Key Points Regarding Northern Ireland Marriage Certificates:

• "Single" vs. "Spinster": Since roughly 2005 (aligned with the Civil Partnership Act), the term "single" is used to describe a person who has never been through a marriage or civil partnership.

Because "spinster" is a particular type of single.

Someone who is a widow, or a divorcée, or separated could also be "single".

@SabreIsMyFave I say pictures interchangeable with cinema and I'm not even 30!

Yes

I’ve heard men referred to as slappers and tarts.

Oh my, from behind the iron curtain. They are massively blunt, zero filter and feel the need to comment on everyone, negatively, to their face. So yes, there is a cultural element.
1850s calling...? would´ve been my answer...

I am sorry for you loss, I hope are well.? Well spiders do have some skills (see spider man / verse / what it says on the tin).

If you could choose a new word to make up for both what would it be? I'm interested if we can?

Bachelor is absolutely not common at all in this context or even in modern day conversational UK language for an unmarried man.

However, even so, a bachelor has an indication of something to be sought after, redeem yourself to and yes I do worry about "bachelorette".

I mean this genuinely.

a slapper is not used for a male - but means a woman who has had lots of sexual partners - whereas a stud is a male that has had lots of sexual partners.

Bachelor is not the equivalent! there are so many more pejorative terms for women than there are for men

No, because it's a feminine word 🤣 they'd use them term "bachelor" for a man.

That's like saying "they'd never call a man a widow" well no, cos they'd call him a widower!

Does it really, genuinely remind you of a confident, sexy, fashionable, internationally successful music artist? Honestly?

So why didn’t she say “oh you’re single? One of my aunt’s is single” given that “single” is far more common in English.

And why mention her aunt at all?

They would never say this to a man.

Well it reminds me of Spinderella from Salt n Pepa so I guess we're all different eh

It’s really not. Barren is a judgment on your fertility, which is an incredibly sensitive and difficult subject, whatever language you use. Spinster is a comment on marital status, which is a matter of public fact.

@SabreIsMyFave I say pictures interchangeable with cinema and I'm not even 30!