Sologamy represents symbolic marriage with oneself. Such expression of individual's love and self-commitment is ever more popular especially among middle-aged single women, who are often targets of singlism, ageism, and sexism. Do single life and sologamy represent an escape from patriarchal social norms, or merely new forms of control and subordination? In the search for my answer, I lean on key works from the field of social sciences. Throughout, I approach sologamy from different angles and recognise the interconnectedness of various dominant ideologies, values, and norms. Specifically, I focus on the notions of love, intimate relations, and singlehood and consider them within their changing social, cultural and temporal context within »Western« societies. My analysis of contemporary partnerships and society is centred on the ideologies of exalting the individual, of autonomy, freedom, and choice. I explore therapeutic culture, narcissism, and spectacle alongside critical considerations of mechanisms of oppression and reproduction of gender inequality through heteronormative ideas of happiness, time, and life course, supporting my claims by referring to existing interviews with sologamous individuals. Although the occurrence of sologamy itself reflects social inequalities and calls for their recognition, I conclude that its potential for emancipation on the broader socio-political scale is suppressed by the strength of discourse on personal growth.
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