Sunday, Feb. 08, 2009

Anti-Valentine's Day a growing phenomenon

There are few holidays that draw as much attention from enemies as Valentine’s Day. Though, admittedly, there are few holidays that actually have enemies. But the Anti-Valentine’s Day movement is growing larger every year.

There are Anti-Valentine’s Day greeting cards on the shelf at Target. Cafepress.com has Anti-Valentine’s Day merchandise. There are Web sites dedicated to Singles Awareness Day and Black Heart parties.

So why does Valentine’s Day get all the flack?

“Bitter people,” said Columbus State University freshman Alex McLouglin. And she’s not entirely off the mark.

According to “I Hate Valentine’s Day,” a book by Bennett Madison and James Dignan, Valentine’s Day stops being fun when you start caring about it. In elementary school the day is about giving everyone in your class cards, cutting out pink lace hearts and eating too many chalky conversation hearts.

But as you grow up, Valentine’s Day stops being about everyone in the class and starts being about you plus a certain special someone.

Suddenly there is added pressure: if you’re not in a relationship, you should be, and if you are in a relationship, Valentine’s Day is expected to be perfectly romantic. This is where most of the opposition comes in.

People become “anti” Valentine’s Day because they want someone they don’t have, because they are bitter toward love or simply because they don’t view it as a holiday worth celebrating.

But McLoughlin, along with fellow CSU freshmen Amanda Fuller and Tasia Ware, enjoys celebrating Valentine’s Day.

“Sometimes (I celebrate),” Ware said. “When I have someone to celebrate with.”

Something that should also be taken into consideration is the fact that currently 51 percent of the female adult population is living without a spouse.

Bitterness aside, some of the Anti-Valentine’s Day movement can be attributed to strong single women encouraging other strong single women to celebrate their solo status.

Who needs roses (that will die in a week), chocolates (that make you fat and break out) and a romantic dinner for two, when you can have flirtinis, girl talk and a carefree night on the town?

Whether or not “Sex and the City” deserves props for promoting the strong single woman archetype, many women embrace it. Valentine’s Day may be about love, but it doesn’t have to be confined to romantic love.

Alternatives

Feeling extra lovey but don’t have a romantic partner to dote on? Send a rose (or a dozen if you’re feeling generous!) to your other single friends. Buy some candy for nieces or nephews – or any child in your life.

There are many ways to participate in this highly commercialized holiday even if you don’t have a significant other.

Organize a get-together with some single friends, cook dinner together and watch a non-romantically themed movie.

For those who need to be reminded of the perks of being single on Valentine’s Day, Columbus hotspot H2O is hosting an Anti-VD Party. You can learn to celebrate your singledom with special shots, prizes and games.

And for the especially bitter, check out the array of Anti-Valentine’s Day E-cards and send one to your ex.

I guarantee it won’t make you feel better, but at least you didn’t succumb to the societal pressures of yet another overly commercialized holiday, you rebel.