Married people will often complain about their kids and their spouses (though they presumably wanted all those kids and spouses to begin with). The underlying implication to their complaints is that single people don't have "real" problems or responsibilities. The truth is, I've met immature single people. I've also met immature married people. Everybody fills their lives with something; whether those "somethings" involve responsibility is entirely up to the individual as is the degree of responsibility.
The oddest corollary to this assumption is the inability for a certain type of married woman to have a conversation with a single woman because the single woman doesn't have a husband or kids (or for a certain type of single woman who desperately wants to get married to have a conversation that isn't about dating). I've worked on committees with women who could talk about nothing but their husbands and kids (or dating). I didn't mind. I talk to people about their families (and dating) all the time!
But I might as well have been a talking parrot for all the interest they evinced in my life as a teacher, writer, reader, cat owner. I would put down their lack of interest to simple indifference (it's not like people have to show interest in the same things!) if that lack of interest wasn't accompanied by the attitude that only a life with husband and kids (and dates) could be of interest.
This behavior has nothing to do with whether a woman works outside the home or not. I've met homemakers who love talking about books, movies, politics, religion, history (and are sometimes desperate for a non-child-care conversation). And I've meet working women who define everyone's importance and purpose as "does that person have a husband and kids?" ("Does that person have a boyfriend?")And I've met people who got offended when I compared their kids to my cats--yeah, I've learned not to do that.
