Politics of singlehood are a matter of relevance to the majority of people, as most experience singlehood at some point in their life course. As being such a multidimensional issue, singlehood also serves as a fruitful starting point for wide-ranging sociological and feminist conversations. Singlehood can be studied as a social category, an identity, a […]
The figure of the polyamorous single woman in consensual non-monogamy discourse in Belgium (by Katrien De Graeve)
The following text is a shortened version of the keynote speech given by Katrien De Graeve at the launch event for the Research Network of Singlehood Studies that took place on 16-17 December 2019 in Tampere. A picture of a bed, with a romantic, wooden headboard with candles, and covered with orange blankets, has been […]
Living alone during state of emergency (by Tiina Sihto)
Covid-19 and the measures taken by governments around the world in order to control the pandemic have fundamentally changed the way we currently live our everyday lives and organise our relationships with others. Much of the popular media discussion has revolved around challenges faced by dual-earner families with young children and the possible consequences the […]
The organizational lives of singles (by Andreas Henriksson)
The following text is a shortened version of the keynote speech given by Andreas Henriksson at the launch event for the Research Network of Singlehood Studies that took place on 16-17 December 2019 in Tampere. Singles inhabit most parts of society, including most organizations. Some organizations are solely for singles, including singles’ associations and dating […]
Couplenormativity in the fertility clinic: creatively making families by matching gamete donors with single women recipients in private sector care (by Riikka Homanen)
The following text is a modified version of the panel speech given by Riikka Homanen at the launch event for the Research Network of Singlehood Studies that took place on 16-17 December 2019 in Tampere. In my research I have studied couplenormativity in relation to heteronormativity and homonormativity in the context of fertility treatments, as […]
Disentangling Living Alone, Being Alone, and Feeling Alone: between Cultural Pessimism and Optimism with ‘Modernity’ at Stake (by Christopher Swader)
The following text is a shortened version of the keynote speech given by Christopher Swader at the launch event for the Research Network of Singlehood Studies that took place on 16-17 December 2019 in Tampere. Few themes are closer to the ‘heart’ of modern societies as the related concepts of individualism and individualization. Indeed, since […]
Singlehood Studies: Kick-off event on December 16-17, 2019 Tampere University (Finland)
The event consists of three parts: 1) Public keynote talks by four distinguished scholars 2) Workshop for invited researchers who are currently conducting research on singlehood or related themes3) A launch event of the recently established Research Network of Singlehood Studies and a related panel discussion on couple-normativity. The keynote talks and the launch event […]
The Research Network of Singlehood Studies (SinglehoodS)
The number of people living without a partner is growing in Finland, in Europe, and globally. Despite this shift, there is a paucity of research on singlehood. Even though the increase in the amount of singles is reshaping institutions and producing alternative intimacies, the demographic change has not disrupted the tenacity of the couple norm […]