The institution of marriage is progressing and evolving as time passes. What started off as traditional monogamy morphed into polygamy, polyamory and gay marriage. Even bestiality, the practice of tying the knot with animals, is now surprisingly accepted by certain segments of society.
However, as it turns out, that was not the end of the road. Sologamy, or the practice of marrying oneself is gaining traction particularly among women.
Carolyn Moynihan, a reporter for the online publication The Stream writes about the development, reporting that although only a fraction of women are turning to the new trend, the names on the sologamist list include some famous ones.
Prominent among them is TV writer Tracy McMillan, who has gone on to deliver a TED talk on the subject. An online business soon after emerged solely to cater to the needs of the people opting for sologamy. The site, titled I Married Me, offers a whole host of wedding related needs including rings, ceremony instructions, vows, and affirmation cards.
Moynihan's report attributes the gaining popularity of this trend to the rapidly dropping marriage rates. For the last four decades, the graph has shown a dipping trend.
According to Christian Headlines, a Pew Research Center study in 2012 revealed that among adults aged 25 or above, one in five had never been married. Comparatively speaking, those figures stood at one in nine back in 1960.
Adding fuel to the fire is the rising belief that a husband is no longer crucial to the life of a woman. This new-age school of thought has further spiked the statistics in favour of sologamy.