Unsplash/Priscilla Du Preez – Picture has been edited by Les 3 sex*

Review • Singlehood

5 October 2022
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Romantic relationships and the search for love are ideals that are still highly valued in Western societies. According to the American philosopher Elizabeth Brake, the West is characterized by an "amatonormativity", a system in which individuals are pushed to seek love at all costs, with the romantic couple being the preferred relationship model to the detriment of other forms of relationship. However, celibacy is also a reality for many people. The issue of celibacy is not new and many historical studies show that this subject has been regularly thought about throughout time. We can even find reflections on this subject as far back as the 17th century with the work Du célibat volontaire ou la vie sans engagement by Gabrielle Suchon. More recently, and as we have shown in our case file on celibacy published in 2020, a positive redefinition of celibacy has gradually emerged in the last decades. Thus, some people today consider celibacy as a way of life in its own right, even as a proudly claimed identity. Singlehood is therefore plural and its study helps to understand the dominant discourses in terms of emotional and family life, or even to understand how a society is organized, particularly in terms of interpersonal solidarity. A website, Singlehood Studies, even lists academic articles related to celibacy, proof of the topicality of this concept. This review will therefore focus on the question of celibacy and its treatment by academic research.

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celibacy, single, couple, solitude, individual, solidarity

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