Abstract
This article examines the transformation of singledom during the COVID-19 pandemic, scrutinising the impact of rules and regulations governing proximity, touch and sex. I focus on government responses in Australia, situating the nation’s experience in a global context. National discussions were strangely sexless, presuming widespread coupledom and emphasising the lost, non-sexual intimacies of families and older people. I contrast this to broader theoretical claims of a ‘transformation of intimacy’ that posit a move to atomised relations across the Global North, including a growing tendency towards singledom. Yet assumptions of coupledom clearly persist in Australian policy and social life. I reflect on transformations of singledom and living alone during and prior to the pandemic, exposing tensions between theorisations, local realities, and the governance of sex and singledom.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 9-13 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Anthropology in Action |
Volume | 27 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Dec 2020 |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Copyright the Author(s). Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.Keywords
- Australia
- couples
- COVID-19
- family
- intimacy
- law
- sex
- singles
- Couples
- Law
- Sex
- Intimacy
- Family
- Singles