<ul class="summary-list"><li>"<keyword id="13369176" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="sologamy" source="Orion">Sologamy</keyword>," or marrying oneself, has been on the rise among women.</li><li>Many sologamists say the isolation of the pandemic pushed them to formalize their deeper <keyword id="13369178" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="self-love" source="Orion">self-love</keyword>.</li></ul>When she opened the box with her engagement ring, Nneka Carter burst into tears. It was the ring she'd dreamed of her entire life — perhaps because the 40-year-old had designed it herself and was about to accept her own proposal. During the pandemic, Carter, a master cosmetologist and fitness instructor, endured months of separation from her friends and family. As a single woman, she had to remind herself that she could get through that difficult time on her own. Ultimately, she decided to affirm that strength by marrying herself.In August, Carter said "I do" to herself at a surprise ceremony in Tampa, Florida, surrounded by 40 friends and family members. "The pandemic reminded me that I just need me to be happy," she said. "I didn't want to feel alone or lonely because I didn't have a companion, or I wasn't in a relationship."<div type="image" title="Nneka Carter poses with an &quot;I am enough&quot; balloon after her self-marriage ceremony." height="2112" width="2816" msid="90173248" hostid="261"></div>Carter is one of dozens of singles around the globe who are embracing "sologamy," vowing to love themselves until death do them part. <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-42415394">On the rise over the past decade</a>, the trend has kicked into high gear since COVID-19 hit, as singles <a href="https://www.insider.com/how-to-date-have-sex-in-during-ccoronavirus-pandemic-2020-3">exhausted by Zoom dates</a> and fortified by months of homebound self-discovery have embraced public declarations of self-love. "With increased time spent at home alone, individuals have opted for new methods to appreciate themselves and enhance self-compassion," said Ieva Kubiliute, a psychologist in Los Angeles. "Conducting a sologamy ceremony can be the perfect way to enhance self-compassion and appreciate yourself in the best way possible."<h2>Not a binding, legal affair, but an expression of self-love</h2>Sologamy, aka <keyword id="13369177" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="self-marriage" source="Orion">self-marriage</keyword>, isn't a binding, legal affair. You don't get a tax break, and you're free to marry someone else in the future without officially divorcing yourself. As a result, it's hard to track exactly how many women have committed to themselves. But Amen Jafri, the director and producer of a forthcoming self-marriage documentary called "So I Married Myself," said the pandemic had definitely increased interest. "During the pandemic, as many people were left in isolation, or couples found their unions challenged living within close quarters, I started to see more of a focus on self-love," Jafri said.In the past, she added, self-love was seen as either a self-indulgent concept or a superficial act, like taking a bubble bath. But the pandemic forced a lot of inward reflection and the realization that, ultimately, we are our own best companions — and that healthy relationships require us to be comfortable with ourselves first.<div type="image" title="A white woman clasps her hands." height="1411" width="1882" msid="90173250" hostid="261"></div>That was the case for Ena Jones, 51, who married herself in September 2020 after living through the toughest months of the pandemic and deciding that she wanted to commit to herself forever."I feel like I'm never getting married again," said Jones, of North Carolina, whose big day included 20 guests (<a href="https://www.insider.com/how-to-plan-attend-a-wedding-during-covid-19-wedding-advice-2021">because of COVID-19 restrictions</a>), a white wedding gown, a tiara, a wedding cake covered in sunflowers, and plenty of tears.In the ceremony, Jones promised to be truthful to herself and to love herself until death do her part. Whipping off her mask, she promised to enjoy life to the fullest.<h2>Celebrities have tied the knot with themselves, too </h2>In recent years, some famous women have embraced sologamy. In 2017, the Victoria's Secret model Adriana Lima <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BUsd6EwhpwS/">announced</a> on Instagram that she wore a diamond on her left ring finger <a href="https://www.insider.com/adriana-lima-instagram-wedding-ring-single-2017-5">because it was symbolic</a>. "I am committed to myself and my own happiness," she wrote. "I am married with me." At the time, Lima was single, but last month, she announced that she and her partner, the film producer Andre Lemmers, <a href="https://people.com/parents/pregnant-adriana-lima-baby-bump-paris-fashion-week/">were expecting a baby</a> this fall. That's not atypical for celebrity sologamists: The singer Fantasia Barrino <a href="https://www.eonline.com/news/848129/fantasia-barrino-tells-the-story-of-how-she-married-herself-really">married herself</a> a few years before marrying her husband, and Emma Watson, who <a href="https://www.vogue.co.uk/news/article/emma-watson-on-fame-activism-little-women">proudly announced</a> that she was <a href="https://www.insider.com/emma-watson-single-happy-being-self-partnered-2019-11">"self-partnered"</a> in a 2019 Vogue interview, began dating the businessman Leo Robinton <a href="https://www.seventeen.com/celebrity/celebrity-couples/a35633271/who-is-emma-watson-boyfriend-leo-robinton/">shortly thereafter</a>. Even on "Sex and the City," Carrie Bradshaw, who <a href="https://www.insider.com/sex-and-the-city-single-shaming-episode-still-relevant-today-2021-8">famously registered</a> for a wedding to herself in a 2003 episode, ultimately <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Big_(Sex_and_the_City)#Sex_and_the_City:_The_Movie">walked down the aisle</a> with Mr. Big. <div type="image" title="Adriana Lima attended the premiere of the movie&quot;Madres Paralelas.&quot;" height="2116" width="2822" msid="90173253" hostid="261"></div>But sologamists say the possibility of marrying someone else down the line shouldn't negate the importance of their relationships with themselves."I chose to do this in recognition of the culmination of my journey to loving and accepting myself, and recognition that I didn't need to be in a romantic relationship with a significant other to be happy or find fulfillment," said Roberta "Robbie" Lyndall Fincham, who married herself on July 2 — her 55th birthday. Her closest friends attended the ceremony, complete with a wedding cake, in her garden."If someone has achieved something so important as self-love and self-compassion, then it's definitely worth celebrating," said Fincham, who lives in Australia. "Why should couples have all the fun?"<div type="image" title="Robbie Fincham walks down the aisle after her self-marriage ceremony." height="1279" width="1706" msid="90173256" hostid="261"></div><h2>Cakes, white dresses, and photo shoots</h2>Fun is a big part of the proposition for sologamists, who don't think lavish proposals and extravagant marriage ceremonies should be limited to couples. At Carter's wedding, guests were asked to wear white so that she could stand out in her bright pink and orange ensemble, which she described as her "happy colors." Topping the wedding cake was a sign that said "I am enough." And because she liked to be "a little extra," Carter also purchased a white wedding gown, which she used specifically for a sologamy photo shoot.<div type="image" title="Nneka Carter, a sologamist who married herself, poses in her white wedding gown." height="3264" width="4352" msid="90173258" hostid="261"></div>Palmonia Gordon, a life coach, had promised herself that if she wasn't married by the time she was 50, she would use her wedding dress and "have a big old celebration." After going through her second divorce from the same man, she thought she had found love again with someone new, and she even went so far as to buy a gown.But when the relationship didn't work out, Gordon decided to move forward anyway. On her 50th birthday, she donned the gown and married herself at the Casablanca Hotel in Niagara Falls. "As I sat in the hotel and had the makeup artist apply my makeup, tears started running down my face," Gordon said. "This was all about me. I was ready to declare to the world that I was in love with me." While it wasn't intentional, Gordon's January 2020 self-wedding turned out to be a last hurrah before the pandemic struck. She said she was grateful for having done it, as she leaned on herself to get through the worst of the crisis. "At the time, I felt like something was compelling me to do it," she said. "The pandemic brought home how important it is to seize the moments when we truly have them."<div type="image" title="Palmonia Gordon, who married herself, poses after her Niagara Falls wedding ceremony." height="3683" width="4911" msid="90173260" hostid="261"></div><h2>Not every sologamist feels the need for a big wedding</h2>After learning about sologamy online, Ghia Vitale, a 32-year-old writer from Long Island, New York, proposed to herself in her bedroom. "I am sexually and romantically attracted to myself, so it feels right," Vitale said. "It's also my way of rebelling against the institution of marriage and traditional relationship norms that I don't agree with."One of those norms may be a traditional marriage ceremony. At the moment, Vitale doesn't know whether she wants to do it herself or have someone else officiate it. After all, sologamy is first and foremost about the commitment to caring for oneself, whether it's a massive hotel affair or a silent solo ceremony in front of the bedroom mirror.That sentiment resonated with Jafri, who began her film as an observer but plans to join the ranks of the sologamists. She plans to purchase her own self-love ring next week."I started this film as a fascinated observer frustrated by the societal constraints placed on women, starting with the need to be partnered," she said. "But I've realized I've learned a lot from it over the past two years already."

I, take me, to love forever: Some women are marrying themselves, complete with white dresses, cakes, and lavish parties

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Ben Shapiro turns to Brett Cooper for an update on pop culture, including passport bros.</li><li>In a video with Brett Cooper, Shapiro said he too married a woman who was born overseas.</li></ul>Ben Shapiro has given his verdict on <a href="https://www.insider.com/passport-bros-tiktok-digital-nomads-us-citizen-travel-abroad-2023-5">passport bros</a> — and to him, what they're doing sounds like just a more expensive version of seeking a mail-order bride. On a recent episode of "The Ben Shapiro Show," <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wsklt0jS5dM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shapiro shared his thoughts with fellow conservative commentator Brett Cooper on passport bros</a>, which he said he was learning about for the first time. <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@thecommentssectionwbc/video/7234958704334867754?q=passport%20bro%20ben&amp;t=1685943513837" target="_blank" rel="noopener">An abridged version of the video was also posted on TikTok</a>, and has garnered almost 10 million views."Passport bros are men that are so fed up with Western women because we're all apparently so woke and so terrible," Cooper said in the video, first posted on YouTube on May 19. She added that passport bros believe women from the West "don't want to be wives" so they travel overseas to marry foreign women. "So it's like the opposite of a mail-order bride?" Shapiro confirmed with Cooper, adding that "it feels more expensive." Cooper notes that it can actually turn out to be cheaper, pointing out that passport bros flock to places like Southeast Asia, the Philippines, and the Dominican Republic to find women. She added that passport bros get remote jobs and eventually meet women there to date. "Women in the Western world — specifically the United States — are so pissed off about it," Cooper says. Shapiro then talked about his wife Mor Shapiro, who was born overseas. "I did marry a woman from abroad, she's been in America since she was 12. But still, she's Israeli," Shapiro said, adding that his wife eventually got US citizenship. Cooper described Shapiro as a "reverse passport bro," and he agreed, saying: "Yeah, exactly.""I did not import my wife," Shapiro said at the end of the video.<blockquote class="tiktok-embed" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@thecommentssectionwbc/video/7234958704334867754" data-video-id="7234958704334867754" style="max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px;"> <section> <a target="_blank" title="@thecommentssectionwbc" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@thecommentssectionwbc?refer=embed">@thecommentssectionwbc</a> Teaching Ben all the TikTok trends! <a title="benshapiro" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/benshapiro?refer=embed">#benshapiro</a> <a title="passportbros" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/passportbros?refer=embed">#passportbros</a> <a title="trends" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/trends?refer=embed">#trends</a> <a target="_blank" title="♬ original sound - The Comments Section" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7234958756583443243?refer=embed">♬ original sound - The Comments Section</a> </section> </blockquote> TikTok users expressed their support for the passport bro movement, with one user, Bradley Bynum, commenting: "I respect the passport bros.""My husband told me that if he never met me, he would be a passport bro because he finds American girls to be too much," @bumblybeeboo commented.In the original video, Shapiro explains that as he is a father and approaching 40, he will be having 21-year-old Cooper filling him in on pop culture trends — from <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/discover/Sologamy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sologamy on TikTok</a>, which refers to the act of marrying oneself, to the <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@thecommentssectionwbc/video/7236088602923470126" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"wet cigarette men"</a> the Kardashians are dating.Shapiro and Cooper are both known for sharing their conservative views on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TGJpx8766s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issues concerning Black Americans</a> and <a href="https://www.economist.com/open-future/2019/03/28/inside-the-mind-of-ben-shapiro-a-radical-conservative" target="_blank" rel="noopener">transgender communities</a> on <a href="http://dailywire.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Wire</a>, a controversial website founded by Shapiro.Several <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/BrettCooper/comments/yjplc3/is_brett_related_to_ben_shapiro/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">online users have previously questioned if Shapiro and Cooper are related</a>, with some users pointing out that the two have an uncanny similarity. In a May interview with The Iced Coffee Hour, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeNs8yJ0h0g" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cooper denied she was related to Shapiro.</a>Shapiro and Cooper did not respond to Insider's requests for comment, sent outside office hours.

Brett Cooper teaches Ben Shapiro about passport bros. He asks her if 'it's like the opposite of a mail-order bride?'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>In 2022, Dictionary.com and the Oxford English Dictionary added 23 words to describe gender and sexuality concepts.</li><li>New gender-related words include "enby," "nounself pronoun," and "pangender."</li></ul>As people's understandings of gender and sexuality shift, whether due to cultural changes or scientific findings, so do the words we use to describe them.<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/22/learning/when-talking-about-identity-how-much-do-words-matter.html">Language is a major factor in how to shape our identities</a> and view ourselves, and using words that people relate to can break down taboos and allow them to feel understood.This year, <a href="https://www.dictionary.com/e/new-dictionary-words-fall-2022/#gender-relationships">Dictionary.com</a> and <a href="https://public.oed.com/updates/">Oxford English Dictionary</a> added new gender and sexuality words and phrases to their pages, giving readers more options to describe who they are, what they desire, and how they show up in the world.Words that are already popular slang, like "simp," made the cut, as did the verb form of "sixty nine."<h2>Oxford English Dictionary additions include 'TERF,' 'stealthing,' and 'sixty nine'</h2><ul><li>Anti-gay (adjective): Opposed or hostile to homosexual people (sometimes specifically gay men) or homosexuality</li><li>Condomize (verb): To put on a condom; to use a condom during sexual intercourse, either as a contraceptive or to protect against infections</li><li>Demisexual (adjective, noun): Involving ambiguous or amorphous sexual characteristics or activity</li><li>Enby (adjective, noun): A person who has a non-binary gender identity; non-binary</li><li>Hypersexualize (verb): To make (a person or thing) pervasively, excessively, or inappropriately sexual; to imbue or permeate with intense sexual or erotic</li><li>Multisexual (adjective): Characterized by sexual or romantic attraction to, or sexual activity with, people of different sexes or gender identities</li><li>Pangender (adjective): Designating a non-binary person whose gender identity encompasses multiple genders, which may be experienced simultaneously or in a fluid way</li><li>Sixty nine (verb): To engage with a partner in simultaneous mutual oral stimulation of the genitals for sexual pleasure; to participate in a sixty-nine"</li><li>Stealthing (noun): The action or practice of removing one's condom during sex (or occasionally of intentionally damaging it prior to sex) without the knowledge and consent of a partner</li><li>TERF (noun): Transgender-exclusionary radical feminist; typically derogatory term for a feminist whose advocacy of women's rights excludes (or is thought to exclude) the rights of transgender women</li></ul><h2>Dictionary.com added 'simp,' 'aromantic,' and 'throuple'</h2><ul><li>Aromantic (adjective): Noting or relating to a person who experiences little or no romantic attraction to other people</li><li>Bachelorx party (noun): An inclusive pre-wedding party, often on the night before or in the days leading up to the wedding, and ranging from a night of drinking to a destination vacation (used in contrast to bachelor party and bachelorette party, and intended to be welcoming for wedding participants and guests of any gender)</li><li>Demisexual (adjective): Noting or relating to a person who is sexually attracted only to people with whom they already have an emotional bond</li><li>Feminine of center (adjective): Noting or relating to a person, especially an LGBTQ+ person, who is more feminine than masculine on a spectrum of gender expression</li><li>Hegemonic masculinity (noun): A socially constructed masculine ideal, defined chiefly in contrast to or as the opposite of femininity, and held up as the most prestigious form of manliness in a heteropatriarchy</li><li>Heteropatriarchy (noun): A hierarchical society or culture dominated by heterosexual males whose characteristic bias is unfavorable to gay people and females in general</li><li>Masculine of center (adjective): Noting or relating to a person, especially an LGBTQ+ person, who is more masculine than feminine on a spectrum of gender expression</li><li>Neopronoun (noun): A type of gender-neutral pronoun, coined after 1800, and used especially by nonbinary and genderqueer people, as in English ze/hir/hirs,e/em/eirs, or xe/xem/xyrs</li><li>Nounself pronoun (noun): A type of invented gender-neutral pronoun used by some nonbinary and genderqueer people in place of gendered pronouns such as he/himself or she/herself to express a spiritual or personal connection to a specific concept: the nounself pronoun is derived from a word, usually a noun, that is linked to that concept, such as the use of star/starself by people who feel a connection to celestial objects or bun/bunself, derived from bunny, by people who feel a connection to rabbits</li><li>Simp (noun, verb): A person, especially a man, who is excessively attentive or submissive to an object of sexual attraction; To be excessively attentive or submissive, especially to an object of sexual attraction</li><li>Sologamy (noun): The practice or state of marriage to one's self</li><li>Throuple (noun): Three people who are engaged or   married to one another, or involved   as romantic partners</li><li>Unlabeled (adjective): Noting or relating to a person who does not name their gender or sexuality</li></ul>

You Searched For "sologamy" and got 3 results

I, take me, to love forever: Some women are marrying themselves, complete with white dresses, cakes, and lavish parties

Danielle Braff

Brett Cooper teaches Ben Shapiro about passport bros. He asks her if 'it's like the opposite of a mail-order bride?'

Marielle Descalsota

23 new gender and sexuality terms added to the dictionary in 2022

Julia Naftulin