“I Will Not Be Wearing Heels Tonight!”

Abstract

Utilizing a feminist lens inspired by third wave feminism, this paper explores the gendered complexity of singlehood. To begin to unpack this complexity, I argue dating—a social practice commonly associated with leisure—is a useful conduit to achieve this end. Using autoethnography, I share personal narratives to illustrate the complexities and tensions I experienced negotiating singlehood as an adult woman and examine the ways gendered ideologies and expectations influenced how I performed womanhood in my own life. In so doing, I urge researchers to think about the diversity of ways gendered ideologies and expectations can discipline, constrain, and liberate single women's leisure lives and their engagement with dating. I also highlight why leisure researchers and feminist leisure scholars in particular should pay closer attention to exploring the diversity of ways single women may experience dating and its ties to leisure.

Keywords:

• third wave feminism
• singlehood
• autoethnography
• creative analytic practice (CAP)
• dating