Tinisha D. Brugnone, author of “Pimpette Chronicles: A Modern Black Woman’s Guide to Dating Safely and Navigating These Mean Streets,” says she is slowing down with dating during cuffing season.
Cuffing season is still here. How will you explore your options while there is still time left?
Whether you’re looking for a long-term romance or something else, cuffing season might be your best bet to finding love while entering the sometimes choppy waters of the dating field.
For those who are unfamiliar with the term, cuffing season is the time of year when single people rejoice and begin looking for short-term partnerships to help them get through the drier months of the year. Typically, cuffing season starts in October and lasts until soon after Valentine’s Day.
Cuffing season became a term in Urban Dictionary in 2011.
While people can date any time, cuffing season is seemingly a more socially acceptable time to date with more openness and relaxed dating rules.
During cuffing season though, research shows that men cuff more, which is one of the biggest surprises. This might be because cuffing romances tend to be more hurried and promiscuous, according to nationwide dating trends.
With COVID, isolation and ever-changing relationship rules, the dating scene has changed in unforeseen ways, to say the least during the past several years. Singles across the nation have been forced to adapt and adjust to cultural nuances that impact their dating lives. Even economically, things have shifted the dating world – hello inflation and goodbye expensive nights out? Not so fast. Love and romance still win in the end, regardless of obstacles because new trends mean new ways to shake things up and find someone to be with.
To prepare daters for 2023, Jonathan Kirkland from Match Group’s BLK has put together his predictions for the dating trends people will be seeing in 2023, and says that entrepreneurship is on the rise, especially amongst Black Americans. Additionally, of the new BLK profile stickers “Black Business Owner” was one of the most commonly used on the dating app.
In 2023, the nation will see a rise of what Kirkland is calling “entre-dating” or dating someone who has similar business interests and entrepreneurial passions, with hopes of going into business together.
Also, this year more Black singles will use dating apps to make connections ahead of and during major music festivals and events like AfroPunk, Essence Festival and Made in America. According to Kirkland, people will also see more festivals and event organizations partnering with dating apps to increase connectivity amongst festival-goers.
There also is a complex relationship between Black women and their beauty routines and practices. The debate around “wearing wigs vs. showcasing natural hair” or “how much makeup is too much makeup” will always be a topic of conversation.
“However, in 2023, we will see women embracing their natural beauty and showcasing this on their dating app profile photos,” according to BLK.
Dr. Eddie Connor, a best-selling author, international speaker and college professor, said that cuffing season happens after the hot boy/hot girl summer season goes away.
“Oftentimes, it can be a short-term entanglement that ends when springtime rolls around because it became a relation-slip or situation-ship,” he said, adding that the caveat though is everybody that has a heart doesn’t have a heart.
“There’s nothing worse than doing permanent things with temporary people. What is it to have a warm body, if the person you’re connected to has a cold heart?
“As you are waiting begin working by pouring into your purpose, practicing self-discipline and personal development,” he said, adding that a lady with a sweet personality who knows her purpose is attractive.
Tinisha D. Brugnone, author of “Pimpette Chronicles: A Modern Black Woman’s Guide to Dating Safely and Navigating These Mean Streets,” writes relatable cautionary tales and shares data and statistics while taking her readers on a journey of self-analysis, self-love and empowerment.
Brugnone told the Michigan Chronicle that dating and relationships are a trending topic but “dating safely” is too often left out of the conversation among other elements of cuffing season like dating long-term.
“Cuffing season could definitely turn into something meaningful, but I also… really feel like a lot of people kind of just settle down with one person just because the [bad] weather season, which is why we call it cuffing season,” Brugnone, who is single, said. “You know, it’s so for me personally, I actually decided to kind of like take a step back from dating… this season just for that specific reason.”
Brugnone, who dated someone earlier last year for six months said that the relationship ended in September when she decided to hold off on dating and focus on her priorities.
Brugnone encourages women and men when dating this season to be intentional, safe, and deliberate with their time.
“Some of the problems that we’re running into now [are] because people are just dating anyone who’s available, they’re just going out on dates with stuff. I do not believe in it at all.… If you’re over a certain age and you’re serious about being with someone you really need to try to only concentrate or give your time to those types of people and not people that are not aligned with your vision or your needs.”
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