RAEL’S COMMENT:
Wonderful!!!
An Italian woman has married herself in a ceremony complete with white dress, three-layer wedding cake, bridesmaids and 70 guests.
« I firmly believe that each of us must first of all love ourselves, » said Laura Mesi, a 40-year-old fitness trainer. « You can have a fairytale even without the prince. »
The ceremony carries no legal weight.
But Ms Mesi is part of a growing trend for self-marriage – dubbed « sologamy » – in countries around the world.
Proponents of such ceremonies say it is about self-love and acceptance, and claiming the social affirmation normally reserved for couples who wed.
Laura says the idea of a solo wedding came to her two years ago, after a 12-year relationship ended.
In Japan, a travel agency began offering bridal ceremonies for single women in 2014.
Reports of people marrying themselves go as far back as 1993. It has spawned a number of books and been a theme of episodes of Sex and the City and Glee.
In the US, a website called I Married Me offers self-wedding kits. In Canada, an agency called Marry Yourself Vancouver which has been running for more than a year attributes the rise in solo weddings to the growing numbers of single people.
« Single is the new normal. Celebrate your solo status! » it urges.
But not everyone welcomes the trend, with some calling it narcissistic, and others criticising it as a pointless submission to a patriarchal institution.
Among the congratulatory comments left on Ms Mesi’s wedding photos are others: « So sad », « you’re out of your mind » and « there’s something wrong with your brain ».
Last month, British self-wedder Sophie Tanner told BBC Three some people called her « a sad feminist ».
Ms Mesi has brushed off the catty comments, saying « nothing and no-one can turn off my smile ».
But in media interviews she acknowledges that solo weddings might not be for everyone. To marry yourself, she says, you need a certain amount of money, the support of those around you, and – above all – « a pinch of madness ».
Révéler les dangers dus à l’utilisation du papier toilette
COMMENTAIRE DE RAËL : Et 8 milliards de personnes l’utilisent tous les matins… et tirent la chasse d’eau !