quirkyalone

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Quirkyalone was coined by writer Sasha Cagen. She first used the term in 2000 in an essay she wrote for her magazine To-Do List. As she defines a quirkyalone: “A person who enjoys being single (but is not opposed to being in a relationship) and generally prefers to be alone rather than date for the sake of being in a couple.” She also uses it as an adjective to describe the quirkyalone behavior of such people.

The term, of course, blends quirky and alone. Use of quirky suggests that preferring singleness is eccentric or anomalous in the eyes of mainstream culture but also that quirkyalone individuals embrace that identity.

Cagen’s quirkyalone got wider attention—and many readers who related to the phenomenon—upon publication in another magazine, Utne Reader. This success led Cagen to publish a 2004 book Quirkyalone: A Manifesto for Uncompromising Romantics, which describes “quirkyaloneness” in detail.

After the release of the book, term, and search interest in it, skyrocketed. Even journalists like Anderson Cooper featured segments on quirkyalones.

As of 2018, Cagen maintains a website, quirkalone.net, and newsletter dedicated to the quirkyalones among us.

The late-2000s meme Forever Alone is a kind of humorous, if sad, answer to quirkyalone, focusing on unwanted loneliness and singleness as opposed to sought-out solitude.