It's Cuffing Season for Casual Lovers
"Cuffing Season" can be a confusing term in the age of 50 Shades of Grey. But these cuffs are not literal, it has nothing to do with the kinky stuff (but whatever you're into, no judgments). During Cuffing Season, the cuffs are strictly metaphorical.
Cuffing Season, according to Urban Dictionary is defined as follows: In the autumn and winter months, people who would normally rather be single or promiscuous find themselves desiring to be "cuffed", or tied down by a serious relationship. The cold weather and prolonged indoor activity make many singles lonely and desperate to be attached. It starts the day after Halloween and ends the day after Valentine's Day — to be precise, from November 1 till February 15.
Image Credit: Shutterstock/Elena Elisseeva
Since our generation is “allergic” to commitment, we have come up with a way to have our cake and eat it too. Cuffing Season is the time of the year when you can get the girlfriend/boyfriend experience without the long-term commitment. Someone to bring home at Thanksgiving so your family doesn't think you're a spinster, someone to travel with, someone to spend Christmas and Valentine's Day with. When winter ends, the snow melts, and the sun comes out, then you're back in your bikini sipping mojitos, and checking out dudes or chicks at the beach.
Now, I am not advocating for or against Cuffing Season, just relaying a message that this type of relationship does exist. So if you choose to partake, this is the deal.
Basically, this is a seasonal lover situation, someone with whom to go through all the holiday struggles and successes. Someone who you can use to escape your crazy family and snuggle with by a fire with hot cocoa. Having been in long-term relationships, I find this entire concept fascinating.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think it's right to shamelessly use someone and discard them like yesterday’s news. But I do believe if you are both on the same page, this could be incredibly healthy. Everyone wants to feel loved and the holidays can be the loneliest time of year. Even if you're not ready for something long-term, you shouldn't be deprived of some sort of genuine affection. And that said, I also believe you both should talk about your expectations before someone gets their feelings hurt.
Image Credit: Shutterstock/ Elena Nichizenova
Let me be clear: the person you are “cuffed” to is not a booty call. This is someone you enjoy spending your time with, it's just that you aren't ready to settle down. You should find someone you get along with on a friendship level and not just the physical stuff (although that’s 50 percent of it). Try to stay away from exes as there is already a reason you two didn't work before and this might pull you back into a failed relationship. It might seem like a good idea as you two already know each other so well but someone is bound get hurt and it will be messier than the day you take out the Christmas tree.
Image Credit: Shutterstock/ Steiber
It is natural that as the weather gets colder you’d want to find someone to keep your warm. This may sound like some millennial hogwash used to perpetuate our promiscuous lifestyle, but if you look at nature, winter is prime mating season. As the days grew shorter and the firewood burned out our ancestors had to come up with alternate ways to stay warm.
So if you need to rationalize it, Cuffing Season is just a term used to explain our need for love and affection in the colder winter months. So grab a guy or girl and cuff them tight, we are almost through November and winter is coming!
