SINGLE … AND OH SO HAPPY

SINGLE … AND OH SO HAPPY
“So are you dating anyone?” When it comes to friends, family, or even meeting new people, this question always seems to come up. And frankly, I am so sick of it. People pose the question in a way that insinuates that dating someone is essential to life. (Now that’s a little tongue in cheek, a touch ironic, because of course it literally is!! But what is also essential here is to separate the social from the biological. The stigma (as was) of being without a partner, the ‘shame’ of not being able to find a partner, the opprobrium of living life alone, set against the end of the human race; the destruction of all of society as we know it. All because you will not follow the rules and decide to be SINGLE. ) Without a ‘significant other’ we are somehow in some way less as human beings. That it influences your happiness somehow – ignoring the fact that it is a choice and that that choice – being as it is contrary to society’s norms – actually makes you a more useful person than the one (read vast majority) that blindly (and blandly) succumb. But when you answer “no”, there’s always that awkward silence, tinged with embarrassment. Why are we embarrassed? Maybe because it raises the spectre of their own slavish conformity. Being single is liberating! It’s interesting! It’s fun! And it’s about time we recognized that.