If you are single, do you feel that you are judged for that reason alone? Do people make assumptions about you that they might not make if you were coupled? Do you think it is worse if you are single beyond the age at which people expect you to be married? To be stereotyped is to be prejudged. Tell new acquaintances you are single and often, they will think they already know quite a lot about you. They understand your emotions: You are miserable and lonely and envious of couples. They know what motivates you: More than anything else in the world, you want to become coupled. If you are a single person of a certain age, they also know why you are not coupled: You are commitment-phobic, or too picky, or you have baggage. Or maybe they figure you are gay and they think that’s a problem, too. They also believe they know something about your psychological development and your psyche: You are just not as mature as the other people your age who are coupled. And, at heart, you are