ABSTRACT

This chapter considers internet dating (ID) and heterosexual intimacies through the particular lens of heterodox heterosexualities. It is concerned with 'undoing' the illusory homogeneity and authority of the heteronorm, in a similar fashion to J. Butler's 'undoing' or 'troubling' of gender, in order to open a space for considering social change. Since ID is becoming an ever more significant method for developing intimate relationships, it is a matter of some urgency for feminists to investigate its possibilities for social change. Victoria Milan is an international dating site that specialises in connecting people who are already in relationships and wish to have an affair. These are important innovations in both the practice and public presentation of extramarital dating. However, the sites also reproduce certain norms around bodies, genders and sexual practices. The chapter focuses on Lauren Berlant's conceptualisation of intimacy as a narrative about something shared, a story about both oneself and others that will turn out in a particular way.