Gender, love and the Internet: romantic online interactions in Chilean young people

ABSTRACT

Romance in modern societies is undergoing a two-fold process of transformation: on the one hand, traditional gender relationships are being revised and criticized; on the other, new digital communication technologies are making possible to initiate, sustain and end romantic relationships through a set of practices that mix physical co-presence and online interactions. Using a qualitative approach (N = 48), this paper explores how young people (ages 18–29) in Chile conceive of romantic relationships in this social and technological context. Our results show that romantic relationships are a significant terrain in which gender is negotiated through digitally mediated practices of courtship and maintenance of established romantic relationships. These mirror the power dynamics involved in the existing gendered normativity, but also provide some leeway to transform it, depending on the resources that individuals bring to the technological milieu.

KEYWORDS:

• Gender
• lifestyles
• sexuality
• young adulthood
• communication technologies

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 It refers to the coalition of centre-left wing parties that ruled Chile for almost 20 years, from 1990 (after Augusto Pinochet’s military rule) until 2010, when the right-wing Sebastián Piñera took office.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Universidad Autónoma de Chile [grant number DIUA129-2018].