ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the multiple and varied interactions between six characters in the first four seasons of Glee whose coupled relationships break up in this episode: Kurt and Blaine, Brittany and Santana, and Rachel and Finn. It explains the public intimacy shared in the touch between characters on Glee. Touching is a matter of response. Each of 'us' is constituted in response-ability. The term touch encompasses a variety of interpersonal interactions. Touch can be erotic, intimate, impersonal, painful, between lovers, friends, or enemies. Touch is thus an intimate experience which allows acknowledgement of intimate practices other than sex. Unlike 'private' sex which is performed 'behind closed doors' intimate acts such as touching fingers and lips are often performed in public. 'The Break Up' and the relationships and experiences it alludes to hold potential for developing multiple understandings of intimacy, pleasure, and happiness that move beyond conventional understandings and expand sexual literacies.
