Media Hypes 'Self-Marriage'

By Paul Wilson | June 05, 2012 | 10:45

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The media crusade to redefine marriage has taken a radical turn. Media outlets have put a spotlight on the narcissistic practice of “self-marriage,” in which a person marries himself or herself in a formal ceremony.

CNN’s sister network HLN provocatively titled a June 1 piece “Is self-marriage for you?” The HLN piece cited several examples of people who have “taken vows of self-marriage as a way of contractually binding themselves to matrimonial values,” quoting psychologist Brian Powell: “It doesn’t surprise me that people who live alone want some type of acknowledgment from others that this is a reasonable choice.”

Powell conceded that “self-marriage” is not marriage in any legal sense: “Basically it’s not a legal marriage, it’s just a ceremony that says she’s happy.” HLN also cited an expert, Susan Pazak, who argued: “Having a celebration focused on a woman’s or man’s progress, growth, or accomplishments in front of family or friends is a great idea to being accountable to continue to grow and love oneself … calling it a marriage to self does not seem appropriate.”

Yet that’s what HLN and other outlets are calling it.

On May 24, Anderson Cooper interviewed Nadine Schweigert , who spoke about her marriage to herself on his daytime talk show. The Huffington Post picked up on Cooper’s story the following day, quoting Schweigert’s declaration that she was “very empowered, very happy, very joyous.”

Samhita Mukhopadhyay at the left-wing magazine The American Prospect discussed the topic on May 15, declaring that “Whether she meant to or not, she [Schweigert] also showed the world she didn’t need a man to get married” and that “Schweigert’s decision and the decision of many women like her is actually quite courageous.”

Not every outlet has been willing to accept “self marriage.” Jezebel, no fan of traditional marriage, labeled the practice a “disturbing new microtrend,” and even attacked some surprising culprits: “If this becomes A Thing, I blame Glee and Oprah. The former elevates self-absorption and self-regard into something resembling a virtue — embedded in every episode of is the moral that what is most important in life is to "be true to yourself." … … Oprah advocated constant self-affirmation — you could be awesome if you just sat around being happy with how things were at that moment, or you could be awesome if you made a big ****ing deal about changing something in your life.”

(In season 2 of Glee, a character did end up marrying herself.)

The very definition of the term marriage has become flexible, subject to change and reinterpretation. The term marriage is being redefined to mean any “special” relationship which one person has with anybody, including this formalized narcissism. The media happily present a parade of sexual oddities, presenting them as “choices” and “lifestyles.” What else can be made of a report about a woman who married the Eiffel Tower?

About the Author

Paul Wilson is the Joe and Betty Anderlik Fellow in Culture and Media for the Media Research Center's Culture & Media Institute and Business & Media Institute. Click here to follow Paul Wilson on Twitter.

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Comments

What?

Submitted by Unsane on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 10:47am.

Just when I had seen all the stupid ideas out there...

"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)

It reads like an article from The Onion

Submitted by Galvanic on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 11:40am.

Another episode of "Ya Can't Make This Sh** Up," taking narcissism and self-indulgence to the next level.

I imagine there's a small industry ready to profit from this nonsense, from special Hallmark cards and 'announcements,' to honeymoon resorts for the self-married.

If people are truly happy, they don't need some goofy self-marriage ceremony to let others know. Marrying oneself is an indication that one is not happy.

The media comes

Submitted by misterbee241 on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 1:08pm.

up with this one and TOTALLY redeems themselves.
Hat tip to Dumb and Dumber.

If you're not getting flak, you're not over the target.

Didn't Dennis Rodman already do this?

Submitted by motherbelt on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 10:52am.

Oh, wait! Maybe he married Hillary.
Didn't Jesse Jackson refer to her as Ms. Rodman?

Do they also plan a "honeymoon"?

Submitted by drsamherman on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 10:51am.

I shudder to think.

Doc

Submitted by Tugboat Phil on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 10:59am.

I never married myself, but I did have honeymoons with myself when I was younger. Many, many honeymoons...

Sorry, it had to be said.

President Obama is a Muslim (from his own lips), Kenyan (read it from his publicist) a homosexual (read it on a news magazine cover) and a Socialist (I'm alive and can see it for myself)

Every young person did.

Submitted by drsamherman on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 11:02am.

In psychiatry, the in-joke is that self-marriage is a "pre-consumated" notion.

A little fond of Rosie Palm,

Submitted by texastommy on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 11:58am.

A little fond of Rosie Palm, I assume.

"Occasionally, and randomly, problems and solutions collide. The probability of collisions decreases geometrically as the size of the committee created to force these collisions increases."

the divorce rate will be

Submitted by TruthMonger on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 11:02am.

the divorce rate will be interesting to see

royally screwing up marriage - what other pillars of civilization can libs trash I wonder?

Congratulations Jimmy Carter!

It'll be one hell of a property settlement hearing.

Submitted by drsamherman on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 11:11am.

If there are any arguments involved, a psychiatrist like me will be called in to do a schizophrenia evaluation!

O/T - "The Three Faces of Eve" was on cable yesterday afternoon. Starring the classy and gorgeous Joanne Woodward, I had my medical students and psych residents watch the movie as it depicts something that might (very rarely!) encounter. It's a great movie.

For real, self-marriage will skew the divorce statistics significantly if it were to achieve legal recognition.

I think that honeymoon

Submitted by welcome back carter on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 11:21am.

I think that honeymoon started when they were in the teens.. this whole self-marriage thing is just an excuse to continue that honeymoon.

I shudder to think?

Submitted by CO2Maker on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 6:35pm.

Nah, probably use videos.

Obama's facepalm moment

Submitted by Radical1979 on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 10:53am.

I could have married myself! Not Michelle!

Proud member of the 53%!

That's more of a "Smacks

Submitted by motherbelt on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 10:55am.

That's more of a "Smacks forehead" moment!

So what kind of "vows" does

Submitted by motherbelt on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 11:01am.

So what kind of "vows" does one make to oneself....to love, honor, and cherish, forsaking all others??

I have news for these idiots, that's called selfishness!

I assume all the ceremonies include a recording of Whitney Houston singing (Learning to love yourself is) "The Greatest Love of All"

I thought about this, but I'm

Submitted by ex buff e-dub on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 10:59am.

I thought about this, but I'm beside myself. I'm of two minds on the topic. If I had half a mind, I'd be upset, but my better half would make me think twice.

The divorces will be terrible.

How flat out stupid!

I guess the biggest question is which hand to use.

Submitted by SickofLibs on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 11:08am.

No problem

Submitted by Franksam on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 11:26am.

I vote for polygamy here.

Please answer in the form of a question...

Submitted by AZgirl9000 on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 6:33pm.

That would be, "What is me, myself, and I", Alec.

Dumbest thing ever!!!!!!

Submitted by GG_NB on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 11:19am.

I probably shouldn't say that. Inevitably, there is more dumb to come.

I hate to break it to all the "self-marriage" folks, but there is already a word for that: SINGLE.

"If not us, who? If not now, when?"
~Ronald Reagan

Following narcissism to it's Thelma and Louise end

Submitted by Don L on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 11:25am.

The divorce proceeding must be absolute hell. And two questions come to mind. Who gets the children and the monthly alimony checks, can you just make an online transfer of funds to yourself without hitting the send
button?

Look folks it's just another attack from the Satanic left on the institution of marriage.

Don L

Ahhhhh.

Submitted by The Vet on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 11:38am.

Is that what the homely and showerphobic do? I always thought it went by another name though - accepting your fate.

I could have

Submitted by papadon on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 11:39am.

Smack!--I could have had a V8!

Have I told you lately

Submitted by Firmworm on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 11:40am.

Have I told you lately how much I love me?

Where this is going

Submitted by mustango on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 11:43am.

Powell conceded that “self-marriage” is not marriage in any legal sense

Yet.

After all, neither is/was same-sex marriage.

(Wasn't that a joke headline from one of the Airplane! movies? "Man has sex change; marries self")

How do you file?

Submitted by CobraMan on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 12:08pm.

How do you file, Self-Married, Head of Household?

The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution

Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court

Or Anwar al-Awlaki.

As if anyone cares

Submitted by CobraMan on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 12:14pm.

"It doesn’t surprise me that people who live alone want some type of acknowledgment from others that this is a reasonable choice."

Yea, until they start collecting stray cats, living within stacks of used newspapers, build home made bombs and mail them to people, ect.

The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution

Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court

Or Anwar al-Awlaki.

good news for chronic masterbaters

Submitted by Kuso Jiji on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 12:35pm.

at least they are doing it with someone they love.

I actually made the argument...

Submitted by DumbCanuck on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 12:50pm.

...back in 2005, when we legalized SSM. I was saying now that we redefined marriage to include marrying people of the same sex, why stop there? Why restrict the number to only 2? What's stopping us from redefining marriage to include more than 2? ...LESS than 2, or ONE!

I used the argument to illustrate the futility of redefining marriage in the first place because of the rediculous can of worms it would open up. The response: The usual "Oh that could NEVER happen!!! Stop being so rediculous!"

Why oh why doesn't anyone ever want to listen to truth or reason? Because it's human nature for people to not want to hear the truth if it happens to disagree with their views. No one wants to hear that they're wrong.

I say why should we try to fix something that was never really broken? We tried to "fix" marriage with no-fault divorce two generations ago, and look how that turned out.

"There... Are... Four... Lights!"

How about getting

Submitted by misterbee241 on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 1:03pm.

a dog, or a cat? They make wonderful, loyal companions for people who cant find a human being willing to put up with them.

If you're not getting flak, you're not over the target.

misterbee~

Submitted by GG_NB on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 1:13pm.

Pets are fantastic. And really, I also don't think everyone is meant to be married. So if you're single, it's not like you need to be ashamed about it. It's far better than all the people who enter into marriage lightly and end up divorced -- and sometimes with multiple divorces. When children are involved, that is all the more painful.

So single people need not panic or be ashamed. If you don't find the right person or have a different (but can be just as meaningful) journey in this life, that's fine. But why on earth "marry" yourself? For me, that is just an attention-getting thing. Maybe they just want a party and to get some presents.

"If not us, who? If not now, when?"
~Ronald Reagan

We Catholics believe that

Submitted by motherbelt on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 1:18pm.

We Catholics believe that "single life" is just as much a vocation as either married or religious life (priests and nuns) and that this is the life some are "called" to live.

To try to turn it into some kind of ersatz-"married" state exposes the need for some kind of "me-too" affirmation that is, frankly, pathetic.

As I am single...

Submitted by Unsane on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 4:22pm.

One day my schedule will permit me to at long last assemble the army of attack basset hounds (long a dream of mine). Of course, I need a house and a yard big enough to hold them all.

"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)

Unsane~

Submitted by GG_NB on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 4:50pm.

Warning: basset hounds will eat anything. Candles. Towels. Flowers, etc.

"If not us, who? If not now, when?"
~Ronald Reagan

Oh, For Pete's sake!!! The

Submitted by ant on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 1:15pm.

Oh, For Pete's sake!!! The devil never rests, does he?

I was thinking of marrying myself, but there were too many arguments over money.

Just be sure to make yourself

Submitted by motherbelt on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 1:20pm.

Just be sure to make yourself sign a pre-nup. ;-)

Ultimate fulfillment

Submitted by Pilgrim1949 on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 1:20pm.

Considering how many times Libtards tell Conservatives to go f*** themselves, now some of them are personally finally taking it literally.

B-b-b-but.....wouldn't that be rather narrowly ethnocentric and exclusive? What about diversity, etc., etc., etc.?

Then again, if you're MPD it offers a polyamory-rich opportunity. TLC programming execs take note!!

"Me, Myself and I" -- a new menage-a-trois series...

"Ye canne change the laws of physics....." but some politicians believe that with the right legislation you can pretend they don't really apply to your own pet projects...

I love NB comments

Submitted by GW on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 1:42pm.

Y'all made all the points I was going to and then some, too.

"Unfortunately, some people use belief-based facts rather than fact-based beliefs." -Par for the Course on Wed, 04/18/2012 - 5:38pm

GW~

Submitted by GG_NB on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 2:13pm.

George W., is that you??? We miss you!!! Sure, there were problems, but nothing like this! And you didn't play the blame game and stepped up in leadership and had a realness to you. Your comments at the portrait unveiling were dynamite. Please, come back, W. Help!!

Oh, wait. Bio says this is a Catholic 40-year-old. Never mind.

But thanks for your nice comment on NBers, GW. ;)

"If not us, who? If not now, when?"
~Ronald Reagan

GG*

Submitted by cajun2 on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 4:46pm.

I love NB just for the Giggles...

Thanks, Caj :)

Submitted by GG_NB on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 4:51pm.

"If not us, who? If not now, when?"
~Ronald Reagan

Gave me some giggles, too!

Submitted by GW on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 5:21pm.

Thanks y'all.

"Unfortunately, some people use belief-based facts rather than fact-based beliefs." -Par for the Course on Wed, 04/18/2012 - 5:38pm

I can finally win an

Submitted by ex buff e-dub on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 2:04pm.

I can finally win an argument!

I'll have to yell at myself for leaving the toilet seat up tho...

Can't wait

Submitted by 4Deuce on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 2:10pm.

i can't wait to set up a website where people marrying themselves can announce their engagments to themselves beforehand and post their photos with captions reading: "Mr and Mrs Bill Smith announce that their son Dan will take his own hand in marriage." Later I will set up another website for divorce declarations stating: "Dan Bailey and Self End Marriage - Cite Irreconcilable Differences."

Irreconcilable differences?

Submitted by Rukus on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 8:16pm.

More like irreconcilable callouses!

_____________________________________________________________ I'm not too drunk to dance! It's just that people keep stepping on my hands!

"What caused your breakup?" I

Submitted by ex buff e-dub on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 3:05pm.

"What caused your breakup?"

I caught myself cheating

Ya'll are too funny.

Submitted by GG_NB on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 3:27pm.

"If not us, who? If not now, when?"
~Ronald Reagan

I'm depressed

Submitted by Model850 on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 3:28pm.

I proposed to myself this morning, but I turned me down.

I think I need a drink.

This just shows...

Submitted by GG_NB on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 3:36pm.

How darn witty and funny NBers are. :)

"If not us, who? If not now, when?"
~Ronald Reagan

Eh, I heard about all this a

Submitted by TheLoudDreamer on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 4:11pm.

Eh, I heard about all this a long time ago. News busters only reports media bias and absurdities, but someone (i dont know if it was this crazy old bat or someone else) married herself. But I suppose I should be nicer, she admitted that couldn't rightly be called marriage, so she already isn't as crazy as the first person.