RT Article
T1 Online dating profiles, shifting intimacies and the language of love in Papua New Guinea
JF The Australian journal of anthropology
VO 32
IS 3
SP 229
OP 242
A1 Dundon, Alison ca. 20./21. Jh.
LA English
YR 2021
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1937583503
AB In this paper, I explore the privileging of the language of ‘love’ on dating profiles established by Papua New Guineans active on online dating sites. In Papua New Guinea (PNG), recent accessibility to the internet has led to people going online, with the aim of attracting partners and initiating relationships based on affection. I note that companionate ideals and the vocabulary of love are central to online dating, but also reflect a wider re-imagining of intimate relationships across the country. The articulation of the vocabulary of love has a complex history in PNG, however, encompassing engagements with colonial agents, models of Christian intimacies, as well as the potent use of ‘love magic’. In this context, love can signify ambiguity or coercion as much as affection, companionship or romance. At the same time, the vocabulary of love can have a powerful and efficacious effect, generating connections and capacities, particularly associated with being ‘modern’ and Christian.
K1 Papua New Guinea
K1 Online dating
K1 love magic
K1 Love
K1 intimate relationships
DO 10.1111/taja.12408