Exploring Singlism: Stigmatization and Discrimination Against Singles
A noisy pond of humans in the field. I put on a strained smile. A stranger stares at me waiting for my answer. I look down at the wrinkled mushroom caps that just got squished. In between the silence a swarm of words rush through me. Are you here alone? A BBC report estimates 52% of UK adults experienced single shaming since the start of the pandemic. There is a deficit bias in society that considers singletons to be in a transitional period rather than in a state of contentment. Normative Idealization and Matrimania are based around the idea that there are ‘standards of relationships’ that cannot be changed. While social norms compete with each other, people are beginning to shed their patriarchal pasts and leave Singlism behind.
