You’ve likely heard of the concept “cuffing season.” You know, the period between early fall and late winter, when everyone is scrambling to find a partner for the holidays and the cold, dreary months that follow.
Well, this year, it appears that singles are taking this sentiment one step further by creating and following an actual cuffing season schedule.
Yes, you read that right. Gen Z is so deadset on finding a cuffing season partner that they’re starting their scouting efforts in August, preparing for the “championship game” that’s also known as Valentine’s Day.
Cuffing season Schedule
#cuffingseason
Gen Z Singles Are Following a ‘Cuffing Season Schedule’
According to the TikTok above, the cuffing season schedule is as follows:
- Scouting: August 1-August 31
- Drafting: September 1-30
- Tryouts: October 1-31
- Preseason: November 1-30
- Cuffing Season: December 1-January 15
- Playoffs: January 16-February 13
- Championship Game: February 14
According to the TikToker, scouting involves collecting “prospects,” while drafting is “testing out the waters.” Tryouts take the “players” one step further, seeing whether they actually deserve a spot on your team.
Once preseason hits, the prospects have officially made the team but are put the final test before cuffing season. Will they warm the bench, or will they actually get some game time?
Essentially, if a select few make it to the official cuffing season (aka all of December and halfway into January), they become starting players, reaping the benefits of the holiday season, chosen as a +1 for family gatherings or friend events, receiving gifts for Christmas, etc.
The playoffs, however, are a “rough time,” according to the TikToker, as they occur just before Valentine’s Day. This means you’re narrowing down your players and selecting just one MVP in time for your “championship game.” I mean, you can’t celebrate Valentine’s Day with two partners, now can you?
The Gamification of Cuffing Season
Why, exactly, are we approaching this dating trend as a game? In many ways, we’re wired to seek companionship during this time of the year. And if we know one thing about Gen Z, it’s that they love to gamify and ritualize the human experience.
“When you think about what winter means for us, evolutionarily, it makes perfect sense that we’d want a partner, even temporarily, during the colder months,” says Dr. Melissa A. Fabello, Sex & Relationships Expert at Taimi. “Our brains think of it as survival through harsh conditions.”
According to Fabello, some of these instincts are subconscious.
“So many of our dating behaviors are a combination of biological, sociological, and psychological drives,” Fabello continues. “Often, the biological drives are less conscious, and that’s because they come from very deep in our brains: the limbic system.”
Of course, the active choice to create a cuffing season schedule is taking our desires one step further. But hey, it makes sense, given our inherent need for human connection. Why not turn it into an easy-to-implement routine?
“As a social species, we are evolutionarily drawn to be in community, as there is safety in numbers,” Fabello explains. “And dating (or what the research calls ‘mate attraction and selection’) is a great way to add someone (and their people) to your social system!”
However, she labels the concept of cuffing season as a mere “social trend”—one that undoubtedly benefits both the anxious and the avoidants.
“Anxiously attached people feel safer in relationships, and avoidantly attached people tend to prefer short-term or casual connections,” she says.
Of course, there’s also the basic human desire for closeness and intimacy, especially during the dark, cold, and dreary months.
“There’s a physical, biological drive for ‘cuffing,’ such as having a warm body to cuddle when it’s cold,” Fabello says. “But the emotional and psychological drive is also significant. The increase in dopamine that a crush brings can help battle seasonal depression, for example. And having someone to celebrate major holidays—like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s—with can fulfill us socioemotionally.”
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