Article: “Stop single-shaming me – I don’t need a partner to be valued”

Just the other day, one of my closest friends unintentionally single-shamed me. She uttered the words: “You’ll find someone soon, you deserve someone great”. This was directly after I’d told her that I wasn’t looking for anything romantic. That I just wanted to be on my own. I’m not angry at her because, of course, I do deserve someone great. Everyone does. No one should have to settle for someone who is less than great. But that isn’t the point. The point is that I told her I wasn’t looking for anything – not a partner, not a one-night stand, not even a regular hook-up. I just want to be entirely and completely alone. But for some reason, she couldn’t respect that...