About a quarter of American adults live alone. For some, this is their ideal -- no one to steal the covers, put things away in the wrong place, or say you shouldn't eat lasagna for breakfast. Others would rather be in a relationship, but haven't found the right person. Images of single people in books, movies, and television tend to portray one of two stereotypes: either lonely single people leading a miserable existence, or hip, stylish single people leading the perfect urban life. In reality, of course, singlehood can encompass both realities, and neither. Most of the books, billboards, and ads targeting single people are focused only on how to help them find partners, as if that were the only subject of interest to single people.

It can be hard to be single in a "couplist" world, where everything from dinner party invitations to tables in restaurants are designed for people in pairs. If you're not married, or at least in a relationship, people may assume there's something wrong with you, that your life is incomplete. It may feel incomplete to you, too -- or you may feel entirely whole and fulfilled.

The word "single" can be confusing, since it can mean living alone, or it can be a legal term for anyone who isn't married. In our experience, most unmarried people who are in long-term relationships don't think of themselves as "single." When we use the word, we mean people aren't in a significant sexual/romantic relationship (but this definition has problems, too -- check out some of our resources on committed friendship).

In our Living Single section, you'll find:

Living Single Books & Links
Including organizations for single people, resources on committed friendship, asexuality, and links to personal ad sites (for those of you who are trying to meet that special someone).

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