Old Maid ..?

I've started this blog to reach out to those women (and some men) who find themselve over 40, never married and without kids, like myself. I want to know  if the modern day spinster is stereotypical of a victorian old maid, a Dickens' Miss Havisham, pining over a lost love? Now I don't expect us all to be virgins, I'm certainly not, nor do I expect us to live in seclusion with numerous pet cats. But just how far does the victorian stigma that goes with being a spinster, reach into our 21st Century lives? Are we embarrassed or feel ashamed? Do we feel "left on the shelf"? Or are we embracing the freedom, enjoyment and surplus cash that comes with being a mature single  woman. So are you a Miss Havisham or a Sex in the City Samantha? Or a little of both....??