The Happy Bachelors of the 21st Century
He wrote the book on happy bachelors. Here’s what he was thinking.
“But what about the single men?” I have been hearing that plaintive wail since I first started writing about single people many years ago. It is not a baseless complaint. Writings on single life are overwhelmingly by and about single women. So I was delighted to read Craig Wynne’s book, How to Be a Happy Bachelor. I wrote about the book for my “Living Single” blog at Psychology Today. Then I asked Professor Wynne if he would answer some questions about it. I’m delighted that he agreed.
Bella: Please give us a brief overview of your book.
Craig Wynne: How to be a Happy Bachelor is essentially a book on “how to be single” that is geared toward men. It combines a number of different genres. There’s a bit of memoir: I share some of my own experiences with singlehood, singlism, and matrimania; some self-help, in which I provide practical suggestions on how to overcome society’s stigma against singlehood and on how to live your best single life. I also provide critiques to the matrimaniacal messages our society promotes.
Bella: Your book is full of good suggestions at all levels, from very specific tips about getting practical things accomplished to more big-picture advice. I think the big-picture…
