THE ANTIQUIRKYALONE MOVEMENT

One sad truth: Just as there is a growing quirkyalone movement, we must also remember that we are still living with a well-financed, highly organized, and powerful antiquirkyalone movement. This movement is also known as the status quo, or popular culture. Its glossy magazines celebrate young celebrity couples with photos of their extravagantly lavish weddings (unions that often dissolve soon after the magazine reaches newsstands); it promotes Botox to smooth away wrinkles but make it less possible to frown and express emotion, to be human and real (quirky!).

This sect, which usually targets women, also publishes an arsenal of literature and pamphlets to promote a strict timetable for marriage and to devalue goals other than finding a spouse.

Unfortunately, our enemies have a very strong hold in the publishing industry; they persist in publishing virtually the same book year after year. We in the quirkyalone movement are doing our best to counter these insidious messages, but we want to caution you about their prevalence.

Following is just a small sample of the titles they may use to undermine your confidence.

If you see these "books" carried in your local chain bookstore, please do not be alarmed. How to Marry the Man of Your Choice (1984); Smart Women, Foolish Choices (1988); How to Find Another Husband: By Someone Who Did (1985); Husband Hunting: How to Win at the Mating Game (1986); Why Isn't My Daughter Married? Daughters Tell Mothers the Real Reason They're Single (1988); The Best Places to Meet Good Men (1991); What Men Really Want (1991); The Secrets of Winning Men (1993); Getting to "I Do" (1995); Desirable Men: How to Find Them (1997); The Rules: Time-Tested Secrets for Capturing the Heart of Mr. Right (1996); The Real Rules: How to Find the Right Man for the Real You (1997); What Men Want: Three Professional Single Men Reveal What It Takes to Make A Man Yours (1999); The Rules II: More Rules to Live and Love By (1998); The Surrendered Wife: A Practical Guide to Finding Intimacy, Peace, and Passion with Your Man (2001); The Surrendered Single: A Practical Guide to Attracting and Marrying the Man Who's Right for You (2002); Why There Are No Good Men Left: The Romantic Plight of the New Single Woman (2002).

Please see this New Yorker review of Find a Husband After 35 Using What I learned at Harvard Business School for critical analysis of the latest manifestation of the antiquirkyalone movement.