Annabelle: Special issue on being alone

The current issue of Annabelle negotiates the topic of "solo" in a variety of ways: from a scientific text about animals that don't like community, to a touching essay by Claudia Senn, who has lived for decades in fear of becoming a widow because her husband suffers from a life-threatening illness, to praise for the - often stigmatized - existence as an only child, to the question of what role political Switzerland can play internationally.

Alone - that's what we all are, sometimes more and sometimes less voluntarily. On the Annabelle editorial team, it quickly became clear how differently the word can have connotations. The mothers among us wanted nothing more than a wellness weekend or a walk in the woods all by themselves, the main thing being silence, the main thing not having to fulfill any needs, while the singles pointed out that they sometimes feel lonely, that organizing their private lives requires strength, and that as single people - unlike families - they have no political lobby. The articles in the magazine have become as diverse as the perspectives on the editorial board.

One thing, however, runs through the entire issue: Annabelle illuminates the topic of "solo" from a woman's perspective. "Women have always been understood as social beings, and in their singularity they are - at least historically - as threatened as they are menacing," writes Annabelle editor-in-chief Barbara Loop in the editorial. "Women are pioneers, adventurers and, as bosses, make decisions on their own. They are modern observers, self-determined and independent like Carrie Bradshaw. But isn't this single character also destined to find Mr. Big at some point? This issue is about the desire and compulsion to stand on your own."

While members of the Annabelle editorial team tell of their very personal "ego trips," the fashion team gave artist Isabelle Wenzel, who always realizes her projects alone, carte blanche to realize the fashion spread. 12 singles tell of the ups and
The depths of everyday life without a partner, dating experiences and the feeling of freedom. An astrophysicist has her say, as does Silvia Locher, president of the Pro Single Schweiz association. In a picture story, we show pioneering women among men, explore the question of whether children need boyfriends and what you can do to combat loneliness. Our beauty team presents products with only one active ingredient, and singer Róisín Murphy tells us how she stood up for herself and became an icon.