Oscars and Razzies – Singles Category

Earlier in the year, following up on a great suggestion from Monica Pignotti, I invited readers to submit their recommendations for singles-friendly and -unfriendly establishments. Most were posted to the comments section of this post; others were e-mailed to me.

So, in celebration of Oscars night, here is the list of cheers and jeers I've gotten so far. (I haven't checked them out myself.) In this post, I'm just mentioning the names of the places, with only a few words about each. Discussions of the nominations were terrific - check them out here. That's also where you'll find the names of the people who suggested each of the establishments on the list below. (If you emailed your nominations, I've mentioned your name since it can't be found in the comments to that earlier post.)

This list includes mostly businesses. Because I'm invoking Oscar, perhaps we should start a list of movies that are enlightened or unenlightened about single life. Post your nominations to the comments section or email them to me.

In a previous post, Sharing the quirky love, I pulled together your nominations for blogs, websites, groups, and listservs that promote thoughtful and consciousness-raising perspectives on singles, or that engage in advocacy or education on behalf of singles. Check them out, and feel free to propose additions to that list, too.

It would be great if you could include a link with your recommendations. Also, if you want to send me an email address and/or a mailing address for a contact person for your nomination, I will try to find time to contact each one personally and thank them for their enlightened policies and practices. (Maybe I'll nudge the bad guys, too.)

GYM MEMBERSHIPS

The key issue here is that too many fitness clubs want singles to subsidize couples. They do so by making their memberships cheaper by the couple, while offering no comparable discounts for singles who may want to bring a friend or someone else with whom they are not having sex. Kudos also to the clubs that simply charge the same for everyone.

Oscar Nominations:

• LA Fitness (everyone pays the same)
• Bally's (offers a "friend or family member" discount)

Razzie Nominations:

• Snap Fitness (not only do they demand that singles subsidize couples, but they are proud of it!)
• Sports Clubs (they, too, are proud of their "couples membership" promotions, and didn't bother to answer an inquiry challenging them)

RESTAURANTS and HOTELS

Oscar Nominations:

• Lori's Diner, Union Square (CA)
• Carmelo's, Northern Wisconsin

Razzie Nominations:

• Howard Johnson's Hotel (rude and unaccommodating to a Living Single reader)

GROCERY STORES and SUPERMARKETS

Oscar Nominations:

• Trader Joe's (often offer small size portions, and without charging a higher per-unit price)
• Any grocer that offers individually wrapped products and small portions without a price mark-up
• Any stores with numerous checkout lines for people with a small number of items
• Any store with bulk offerings (prices are usually reasonable and everyone pays the same unit price, no matter how much or how little they buy)

Razzie Nominations:

Stores that offer "buy more, pay less" specials, especially on perishables (Singles who live solo couldn't use them up before they go bad, even if they did want to eat the same thing every day)

CAR INSURANCE

Oscar Nominations:
Are there any?

Razzie Nominations:

• Progressive (Have you seen those TV ads in which the salesperson and customer become ecstatic over the discount offered to homeowners? They also offer discounts to married people.)

AIRLINES

Oscar Nominations:
Are there any?

Razzie Nominations:

• Air New Zealand (offers beds for economy class, but only if you are traveling in a couple or a family)

EMPLOYERS

Oscar Nominations:

Nicky Grist e-mailed me these nominations of employers who recognize relationships beyond just married couples or same-sex couples:

• "[At] Georgetown University, the District's largest Catholic organization, ... an employee, whether gay or straight, married or not, receives full benefits for himself plus one legally domiciled member of his or her household."
• When the Kentucky Attorney General determined that the universities of Louisville and Kentucky had violated the state constitution ban on marriage-like recognition of same-sex and unmarried relationships by offering health insurance to domestic partners of their employees, he added the universities could be legally compliant if they provided insurance coverage to anyone who lives with an employee. Similarly, in response to the marriage discrimination amendment of the Michigan state constitution, state universities there stopped trying to provide DP benefits to same-sex couples and instead are offering "‘household benefits' for unmarried couples who have lived together for the last 18 months."

Social Life Essential Reads

How Do We Decide to Leave a Social Interaction?

More Variety in Your Social Life in Old Age May Help You Live Longer

Razzie Nominations:

All the workplaces that offer access to health insurance and other benefits only for an employee's spouse. All the employers who expect their single workers to stay late or cover the less desirable travel or weekend assignments, or accept whatever vacation time is left because they think their married workers have a life and their single workers do not.

NEIGHBORHOOD PLACES

Oscar Nominations:

Nicky Grist nominated these places in her Brooklyn neighborhood for their open-mindedness:

• Jaya Yoga Center (for Valentine's Day, they offered a special for you and your loved one, specifying that the loved one could be a friend, parent, or child, and not just a partner)
• The Bag Fund (supports single parent artists)