Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Single People
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Single People
Answers to 37 big questions about single life
For two decades, I’ve been researching and writing about single life,
and reading and discussing other people’s research and writings. With
the help of some brilliant people who have contributed guest posts, I
have been able to address just about every big question about single
life.
I try to keep these writings about single life organized by topic. Recently, I’ve added a few new topics as well as lots of new articles to the topics that were already in my collection.
The outline of the newly updated collection is at the bottom of this article.
Do you want to know what to think about all those claims that getting married makes people happier or healthier and all the rest? (Hint: Don’t believe them!) You will find lots of writings about those issues in the first section, topics 1-8. That section also debunks myths about the supposedly isolated and self-centered single people (so not true), and about the fate of the children of single parents (not gloomy).
Do you want to know about the different ways that single people are living? That’s in the second section, topics 9 and 10.
What is it that draws people to single life? When people embrace single life, what do they find so fulfilling? The section, “The best of single life,” addresses that in topics 11-14.
The next section, topics 15-20, addresses the basics. Just how many single people are there? What does “single” mean? Most of the research and writings on single life are about single women, but what do we know about single men? What about lifelong single people? Older single people? People who were once married but are now divorced or widowed?
Since you are reading this, you probably already know about singlism, the stereotyping, stigmatizing, and discrimination against people who are single. A section on “Singles advocacy and why we need it” (topics 21 and 22) gathers some writings about what we need to do. It also includes discussions of how single people have been stereotyped and shamed – as well as articles on how single people have sometimes been celebrated.
In every major arena of our lives, there are issues around people who are single. Those issues are discussed in writings about the place of single people in the workplace, the educational system, the medical establishment, politics, religion, the military, business, advertising, and popular culture (topics 23-32).
The last section, topics 33-37, is called “We need to rethink these matters.” Think about what you might expect to read elsewhere about topics such as relationships, family, love, holidays, pets, loneliness, and marriage. In the relevant writings in that section, you will not find the conventional wisdom. I hope you will like what I have to say better.
Did I miss something? Unless it is a question about dating, let me know.
I try to keep these writings about single life organized by topic. Recently, I’ve added a few new topics as well as lots of new articles to the topics that were already in my collection.
The outline of the newly updated collection is at the bottom of this article.
Do you want to know what to think about all those claims that getting married makes people happier or healthier and all the rest? (Hint: Don’t believe them!) You will find lots of writings about those issues in the first section, topics 1-8. That section also debunks myths about the supposedly isolated and self-centered single people (so not true), and about the fate of the children of single parents (not gloomy).
Do you want to know about the different ways that single people are living? That’s in the second section, topics 9 and 10.
What is it that draws people to single life? When people embrace single life, what do they find so fulfilling? The section, “The best of single life,” addresses that in topics 11-14.
The next section, topics 15-20, addresses the basics. Just how many single people are there? What does “single” mean? Most of the research and writings on single life are about single women, but what do we know about single men? What about lifelong single people? Older single people? People who were once married but are now divorced or widowed?
Since you are reading this, you probably already know about singlism, the stereotyping, stigmatizing, and discrimination against people who are single. A section on “Singles advocacy and why we need it” (topics 21 and 22) gathers some writings about what we need to do. It also includes discussions of how single people have been stereotyped and shamed – as well as articles on how single people have sometimes been celebrated.
In every major arena of our lives, there are issues around people who are single. Those issues are discussed in writings about the place of single people in the workplace, the educational system, the medical establishment, politics, religion, the military, business, advertising, and popular culture (topics 23-32).
The last section, topics 33-37, is called “We need to rethink these matters.” Think about what you might expect to read elsewhere about topics such as relationships, family, love, holidays, pets, loneliness, and marriage. In the relevant writings in that section, you will not find the conventional wisdom. I hope you will like what I have to say better.
Did I miss something? Unless it is a question about dating, let me know.
