Netflix: the newest form of discrimination

Dear 3 readers (1 astorian, 1 french and 1 Senegalian),

I'm not sure if you all know this...but...I am single. Actually, I'm fairly certain you would be able to deduce this -- people with significant others don't have the time to write missives about Cougars. In my life, I have experienced many forms of single person discrimination:

1) I once purchased a ticket for one to see Wicked after getting off work early. I couldn't help but notice that the 10 people sitting around me in my row were middle aged women with knitting and without wedding rings. Maybe they thought they were being kind sticking all the old spinsters together..but it just made me depressed to have my future sitting next to me like that. There were also open seats closer to the stage, but they decided to put us single tickets in the same row off to the side. Maybe the sight of so many middle aged women is startling to the performers, much like flash photography.

2) I was once pulled to work on this case I didn't really work on, and there was some horribleness that was going to occur on the night of Valentine's day. The attorney (who I didn't even know) was like, "well anyone who does not have a boyfriend or girlfriend will have to stay and do this horrible project while the paralegals with boyfriends or girlfriends can go to Babbo." Guess who ate her dinner at the office cafeteria that night.

In any event...the newest form of single person discrimination/profiling comes in the form of "Netflix Recommendations." Netflix has begun suggesting only movies that come from a very specific genre. I'm not even sure how Netflix found out I was single...but given their movie suggestions...it is very clear that something about my user information tipped them off. Maybe they somehow tracked that I once IMDBed Colin Firth, and liking Colin Firth is a dispositive sign that you are single. Who knows. Examples of the movies:

Starter for Ten: As student Brian Jackson navigates through his freshman year at England's prestigious Bristol University, he develops a crush on winsome coed Alice Harbinson in this comical coming-of-age tale. After several romantic gaffes, Brian changes tactics, concluding that an impressive victory on the "University Challenge" quiz show is the way to capture Alice's heart. Has anyone even heard of this movie?? Did this movie go straight to DVD??

Carolina: In this romantic comedy featuring Shirley MacLaine as a wacky grandma, Southern girl Carolina envisions an entirely different existence for herself, far from the maddening mix that is her family. So, she leaves home for California, where she hopes she'll find some tranquility. But her efforts are soon wasted when she finds herself torn between two men. Who will win her heart? Another straight to DVD masterpiece, no doubt. I suppose this is the token romantic comedy for a Netflix subscriber whose address is south of the mason dixon line.

Other Movies: Sex and the City, Emma, Ever After, 10 things I hate about you. The list could go on and on and on.

Dear Netflix,
There are other types of movies single women tend to like. I really enjoyed "There Will Be Blood," for example -- no romance there. Please stop suggesting movies that involve a girl, a guy, some misadventures, and an unexpected happy ending which is accompanied by an Avril Lavigne song.

Regards,
Lil Layne