C‘It is those who dream of finding true love from childhood. Those who have always fantastic on the white dress, on the perfect honeymoon or on the moment in which he will reach the altar and look in his eyes his sweet half. And then there are people who choose to say “Yes” to themselves. Is called sologamy And it is a phenomenon that has been growing more and more in recent years. But what does it really mean getting married alone?
What is Sologamia?
Sologamia is the symbolic celebration of a union with oneself. It has no legal value, but symbolic. Choosing himself as a life partner means declaring love, respect and commitment to his own person. In recent years there have been no media examples of people who have wore the wedding dress, called witnesses and sworn eternal love … to themselves. The word “sologamia” derives from English Sologamya neologism that has been circulating for over twenty years. According to some sources, the term appeared for the first time in 1993, when Linda Baker celebrated her 40 years self-caught. In United States The first was Jennie Walke In the 2010. Followed by other women in Canada and England and Japan. The last case reported by the Italian media is that of Antoine Chevala French man who has decided to get married after many disappointments in love. More than a real marriage, therefore, Sologamia is an act of self-affirmation and self-recording.
A gesture of independence for women
The spread of Sologamia in Italy is particularly linked to the artist Elena Ketrapseudonym of Elena Pizzatowhich in 2023 presented a digital performance dedicated to the phenomenon, allowing people to “get married” online. Ketra, in her book explains that over the 12 months between 2023 and 2024 thousand people would have married themselves, two thirds of which women. Getting married alone can mark a moment of personal passage: after a break, a disease, or simply to reaffirm its autonomy. It is not surprising that women are mainly practicing it oa share its values: they are increasingly numerous (about 35%) land women who choose to focus on themselves and their goalswithout feeling obliged to get married or have children.
Almost 9 million people are single in Italy
The phenomenon of sologamy is linked to a wider phenomenon: The will to be alone. According to Istat data, In Italy there are about 8.8 million single people. More and more Italians do not see the couple as an obligatory goal. The reasons are different: priorities related to work, personal fulfillment, growing acceptance of the condition of singles, desire to escape social and religious pressures and an evolution of emotional ties, today more fluids and less binding.
Benefits and risks of Sologamia
According to several psychologists, Sologamia can have positive effects: it helps to cultivate autonomy and creativityto take care of one’s spaces and to consolidate the idea that the Wellness passes from love for oneself. But it is not without risk. If lived as a conscious act, it enriches; If, on the other hand, it becomes a way to avoid the outside world, it can turn into isolation and closure. The human being – when social animal – It needs relationships. To conclude, therefore, Sologamia is good only when it is chosen as an expression of love towards oneself, not as escape from problems.
I woman © RESERVED REPRODUCTION