OK, nothing to back this up, and I doubt that it’s more than the random musings of my brain… HOWEVER, could we consider the daughter-as-selfless-caretaker factor? Could it be that women who continue to live with mom and dad are perceived as being the diligent child who tends to her parents’ needs in exchange for room and board? Isn’t that what good spinster daughters do?
Not that I’d know - I left home at 19 and the house where my folks moved 6 years later never had “my room” tho I was welcome to sleep on the sofabed in the basement whenever I visited… but I digress. As a pre-emptive strike, we’ve made sure our daughter knows that once she’s got her BS, she’s on her own, because we’re selling the house and moving on our boat. Ain’t got no basement in the bilge!
The only thing that I can comment on is the Trekkie thing. I, for one, am a Trekkie (although I don’t even own a Starfleet uniform) and moved out of my dads house at the age of 17. I have four children, go to school full time, invest time in numerous hobbies, have an active social life and usually work when I’m not pregnant/nursing or in school. I’m also female, 29, and have not been single for more than a week since I was 16.
Does that break a stereotype?
Live long and prosper!