Sex of place: Mediated intimacy and tourism imaginaries

Authors

  • Elsa Soro

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33919/dasc.19.2.6

Keywords:

Online dating, Intimacy, Tourism, Tinder, Spatial self

Abstract

The capillary diffusion of digital and mobile technologies has deeply changed both the way of travelling and loving. Against this changing context, the aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between tourism discourse and online-dating discourse. Through analysis of a sample of Tinder profiles, the relationship between the self-presentation and the touristic space experience will be scrutinized. The main hypothesis that drives this work is that different ways of being attractive and seductive on dating apps correspond to specific, current narratives and typologies of tourism. The article maintains that discourse of mediated intimacy platforms borrow its themes from tourism imaginaries. Consequently, tourism discourse shapes the different modes of self-presentation in online intimacy.

References

Arias Sanz, Albert & Quaglieri Dominguez, Alan. 2016. Unravelling airbnb: Urban perspectives from Barcelona. Built Environments and "Glocalized" Spaces. p. 209-228. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781845415709-015

Bauman, Zygmunt. 2003. Liquid Love. On the Frailty of Human Bonds. Cambridge: Polity.

Castell, Manuel. 2002. Local and Global: Cities in the Network Society. Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie. Vol. 93, No. 5, p. 548-558. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9663.00225

David, Gaby & Cambre, Caroline. 2016. Screened Intimacies: Tinder and the Swipe Logic. Social Media + Society. D'Eramo, Marco. 2017. Il selfie del mondo. Indagine sull'eta del turismo. Milano: Feltrinelli. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305116641976

Harvey, David. 1990. The Condition of Postmodernity. Oxford: Blackwell.

Eco, Umberto. 1979. Lector in Fabula. Milano: Bompiani .

Giddens, Anthony. 1990. The Consequences of Modernity. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press.

Goffman, Ervin. 1959. The presentation of self in everyday life. Garden City, N.Y. : Doubleday.

Gossling, Stefan & Stavrinidi, Iliada. 2016. Social Networking, Mobilities, and the Rise of Liquid Identities. Mobilities, Vol. 11, No 5, p.723-743. https://doi.org/10.1080/17450101.2015.1034453

Greimas Algirdas Julien. 1970. Du sens 1. Paris: Seuil.

Hobbs, Mitchell, Owen, Stephen, & Gerber, Livia. 2017. Liquid love? Dating apps, sex, relationships and the digital transformation of intimacy. Journal of Sociology, Vol.53, No.2, p.271-284. https://doi.org/10.1177/1440783316662718

Illouz, Eva. 2012. Why Love Hurts: A Sociological Explanation. Cambridge: Polity.

Meyerowitz, Joshoua. 1985. No Sens of Place. The Impact of the Electronic Media on Social Behavior. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Minca, Claudio & Oakes, Tim. Tourism After the Postmodern Turn. In Lew, Alan, Hall, Micheal & Allan, Williams (eds.), 2014. The Wiley Blackwell companion to tourism. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, Wiley, pp. 294-303. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118474648.ch23

Leone, Massimo. (Forthcoming). The Semiotics of the Face in the Digital Era, forthcoming. In Leone, Massimo, ed. Forthcoming. Il volto / The Face Monographic issue of Lexia, 31-32, Rome: Aracne.

O' Regan, Michael & Choe, Jaeyeon. 2017. Airbnb and Cultural Capitalism: Enclosure and Control within the Sharing Economy. Anatolia, Vol. 28, No. 2, p.163-172 https://doi.org/10.1080/13032917.2017.1283634

Ranzini, Giulia., & Lutz, Christoph. 2017. Love at first swipe? Explaining Tinder self-presentation and motives. Mobile Media & Communication, Vol. 5, No.1, p.80-101. https://doi.org/10.1177/2050157916664559

Sheller, Mary & Urry, John. 2003. Mobile Transformations of 'Public' and 'Private' Life. Theory, Culture and Society. Vol. 20, No. 3, p. 107-125. https://doi.org/10.1177/02632764030203007

Simmel, Georg. 1997 [1910]. The Adventure. In Frisby, David & Featherstone, Mike. (eds.), 1997. Simmel on Culture, London: Sage, p.221-232.

Schwartz, Raz & Halegoua, Germaine. 2014. The spatial self: Location-based identity performance on social media. New Media & Society. Vol. 17, No. 10, p 1643-1660. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444814531364

Sutko, Daniel & de Souza e Silva Adriana. 2011. Location-aware Mobile Media and Urban Sociability. New Media and Society. Vol.13, No 5, p. 807-823. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444810385202

Downloads

Published

2019-11-06

How to Cite

Soro, E. (2019). Sex of place: Mediated intimacy and tourism imaginaries. Digital Age in Semiotics & Communication, 2, 92–101. https://doi.org/10.33919/dasc.19.2.6