The rapid advancement of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has had a significant impact on both public and private life. Theories of contemporary intimacy present conflicting interpretations of intimacy, gender relations and technology. Giddens (1992) suggests that ‘transformations of intimacy’ have occurred throughout contemporary Western society and reflect a ‘wholesale democratisation of the interpersonal domain’ (1992: 3). Other authors are more pessimistic. Both Bauman (2003) and Illouz (2003) highlight online dating as an example of how intimacy intersects with capitalism under neo-liberalism. This paper will explore how the digital realm impacts on personal relationships via the experience of online dating, including location based apps. The growing popularity of online dating websites and apps demonstrates that this is an increasingly commonplace activity for people seeking a partner. Yet little is known about online dating among heterosexuals and how social media are transforming intimate relationships. The rise of harassment via social media and the potential vulnerability facilitated by location based dating apps make this an area of pressing concern. This study provides new insights into technology, gender and intimacy through in-depth interviews with 30 heterosexual men and women who live in London and have experience of online dating. It is argued that online dating both reinscribes and subverts prevailing gender norms. The paper explores new understandings of the role of digital intimacies in contemporary life, as well as the changing context for gender relations.

Biography:

Róisín is a senior lecturer in Sociology and Director of the Centre for Intimate and Sexual Citizenship (CISC) at the University of Essex. Her research interests include gender, sexuality, citizenship, kinship and migration and she has published numerous journal articles and book chapters in these areas. She also has a longstanding interest in feminist epistemology and methodology. Her book Lesbian Motherhood: Gender, Families and Sexual Citizenship was published by Palgrave in 2009. She is co-editor (with Rosalind Gill) of Silence and Secrecy in the Research Process: Feminist Reflections (Routledge, 2009). She has edited several journal special issues on topics such as sexuality and social theory; visual culture; and feminist epistemology. Roisin initially joined Essex in 2005 as Academic Fellow in 'Intimacy, Sexuality and Human Rights', a five year RCUK fellowship post that subsequently became a permanent lectureship. Her current research explores assisted reproduction, and gender and intimacy.