Love online / Jean-Claude Kaufmann ; translated by David Macey.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kaufmann, Jean-Claude.

Contributor:

Macey, David, 1949-2011.

Standardized Title:

Sex@mour. English

Language:

English

French

Subjects (All):

Online dating.

Dating (Social customs)--Computer network resources.

Dating (Social customs).

Man-woman relationships--Computer network resources.

Man-woman relationships.

Love--Computer network resources.

Love.

Sex.

Physical Description:

viii, 176 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, UK ; Malden, MA : Polity Press, 2012.

Summary:

The internet - a new world unlike any we knew. Here nothing is final and irrevocable, everything can be tried and experimented with and there is always a second chance. But if this is a blessing, it is surely a mixed one.

What is gained and what lost? And, most importantly, how does love - that blissful state we so passionately desire - fare when suspended between online comforts and the rugged reality of the offline world? Jean-Claude Kaufmann offers us, the perplexed and the confused, a truly priceless service. He locates, spells out and carefully calculates the gains and losses revealed at the critical encounter of the two worlds, at the moment of truth: that first face-to-face date which follows online dating. This illuminating and enlightening study is a report from a battle which no one planned yet few, if any of us, can avoid.' ZYGMUNT BAUMAN, University of Leeds

The internet is changing the rules of the game of love. In a world where any thing is possible, a potential date - whether it be a one-night stand or the start of a more lasting relationship - can be just a click away. Anyone looking for love online can throw off their inhibitions and can say what they have never dared to before.

The internet revolution has ensured that online dating has now become both widespread and commonplace. Online users can buy into the consumerist illusion that they can choose a man or woman in the same way that they would shop for groceries - this is the new hypermarket of desire. Women in particular can enjoy a new sexual assertiveness. Where once they might have looked for an emotional attachment, they are now demanding simply the right to have a good time.

However, love cannot be reduced to such simple terms. The apparently risk-free world of online dating is at odds with love in real life, which has its own demands and expectations. You cannot introduce another person into your life and expect everything to remain the same. Human beings have a way of turning your life upside down.

In this compelling book, Jean-Claude Kaufmann navigates this new emotional world and explores the tensions between sex and love, instant gratification and enduring commitment. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part 1 In Real Life 15

1 'You Never Know What to Expect' 17

2 First Steps 25

3 How to Kiss 47

4 A New Dance 67

Part II Pleasure and Feelings 77

5 Should You Have Sex on a First Date? 79

6 Sex as Leisure Activity 91

7 The Game 102

8 The 'LoveSex' Imbroglio 112

Part III Women, Sex and Love 125

9 Unbridled Pleasure? 127

10 The 'Bad Boy' Paradox 140

11 Avoiding the Traps 148.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

0745651844

9780745651842

OCLC:

707962926