filed in Who Are We?
A Badge of Courage?
Ever since I started my site, I’ve received comments from virtual strangers and loved ones about my bravery. After a recent piece, How I Grabbed the Best Bedroom, appeared in The Huffington Post, a friend wrote to me in an email, “ Wow, girl. You have balls.”
I find this curious. Does it take bravery to admit out loud in public that you’re single?
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2 comments for “A Badge of Courage?”
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Hmmm…I think it can take courage to admit that you’re single if you’re in an environment that’s hostile to singles. But when people leave comments like this, I suspect they’re reacting to your courage in expressing attitudes or emotions that are either very personal or different enough from the norm to expose yourself to potential criticism from the majority. Actually, I think most writers are brave for that very reason.
I think it takes courage to start a dialog about how you’re happy or satisfied being single. Because you’re almost guaranteed to get some kind of blowback, because it’s a more unusual stance–and people are oten threatened by what is strange to them. If you announce that you’re single but somehow also communicate that you’re “looking”, that is (generally) much more understandable to people and will elicit less blowback (though perhaps some annoying blind dates).
Christina