Onely.Org

Singlism: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How to Stop It May 22, 2011

Alert! Alert!

We are pleased to point all our Copious Readers to an important new PRO-SINGLES book, Singlism: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How to Stop It, edited by Bella DePaulo. The title says it all – the book demonstrates how singlism seeps into every aspect of our lives (politics, religion, law, pop culture) but remains generally unchallenged in the public sphere. 28 contributors (including DePaulo herself) articulate how readers can define, detect, and ultimately stand up to singlism in everyday life.

We are thrilled about this new collection, and we imagine you will be too. The book is available for immediate purchase via Amazon or this website, and it will be available on Kindle next month. Full press release after the jump:

The widespread stereotyping and discrimination against people who are single has long gone unrecognized, unnamed, and unchallenged. Bella DePaulo calls it SINGLISM. In “Singlism: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How to Stop It,” she – together with 28 contributors – defines singlism and shows where it is lurking in the workplace, the marketplace, the media, in religion, in pseudoscience, in laws and policies, and in our everyday lives. The authors provide some insight into why singlism persists at a time when so many other isms are considered shameful.

Among the perspectives on singlism represented in the book are the personal, political, historical, religious, legal, clinical, economic, sociological, and psychological. There are media critiques, op-ed essays, and personal stories of standing up to singlism. Advocates and activists describe their successes and their challenges. Also included are sections on singlism’s cousin (the stereotyping and stigmatizing of adults with no children) and on valuing all of the important people in our lives (and not just conjugal partners and children).