THIS Valentine's Day, stand up if you are single and unattached. A nascent industry celebrating singlehood, or more specifically, rebelling against Valentine's Day, has emerged in the United States and Europe.
From anti-Valentine's Day cards, singles' parties, to "Me, myself and I" tour packages, singles are getting long-overdue attention from companies eager to tap into the growing ranks of the un-coupled.
American Greetings Corp (AGC), one of the biggest players in the greeting cards industry, for example, offers 10 anti-Valentine's Day cards which it launched last year.
One such card reads: "A lifetime commitment was completely out of question. Happy anti-Valentine's Day (for the woman who knows what she doesn't want.)"
Company spokesman Frank Cirillo told my paper: "Anti-Valentine's Day cards are for those looking to celebrate single-dom on the holiday." AGC says it decided to launch these cards after it noticed that more people were holding singles parties or "girls' nights out" on what is traditionally a night for couples.
Eateries such as Dewy's Flatiron in New York and 801 Franklin in Alabama are some of those companies organising the singles parties. Some singles are even holding their own anti- Valentine's Day parties.
Said netizen Dbsousa in "half-bakery", an online forum for discussions on food: "I had a great anti-Valentine's Day party one year... It was the most successful party I ever threw.
There is a real market for bitterness around this holiday." Online souvenir shops such as Cafepress.com and Despair sell anti- Valentine's Day T-shirts and chalky-tasting candy hearts stamped with bitter musings tailored to those spending Feb 14 alone.
Another piece of memorabilia, the Singelringen, a ring for singles, has been a hit in America, Brazil and Japan. Swedish entrepreneur, Mr Johan Walhback, the ring's creator, told The New Paper recently that up to 10,000 rings are sold each month.
While sales figures for the anti- Valentine's Day industry as a whole are not available, the market potential is deep considering that 47.3 per cent of Americans, for instance, were single in 2006.
In Singapore, celebration of singlehood on Feb 14 has not caught on yet. Major bookstores such as Kinokuniya, Borders and Popular do not carry anti-Valentine's Day cards. Only one out of 10 singles interviewed by my paper would buy such a card.
Said Ms Yvette Yee, 21, a graphic designer: "It's better to celebrate being single than not celebrate at all." However, Mr Shawn Tjang, a 19-year-old student at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, told my paper: "Why defy conventions? It's V-Day, leave it for the lovers!"
