Patterns in the Telling

Single Women's Intimate Relationships with Men

Bibliographic Data

ID2642318
AuthorsJill Reynolds (The Open University, corresponding author)
Year2006
Volume11
Issue3
Pages98-110
Publication date2006-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociological Research Online (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1360-7804 • E-ISSN: 1360-7804
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.5153/sro.1381
OpenAlexW2140385366
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited28

This article explores some ways in which women not living with an intimate partner talk about their relationships with men. Data are considered in relation to social theorising on the changing nature of intimate relationships. The analysis makes use of traditions in narrative analysis and critical discursive psychology to identify some patterns in the telling, including common cultural resources that are drawn on by speakers. Patterned ways of portraying relationships identified in the data discussed here include a self-blame approach in describing extreme behaviour from the man concerned, and a repudiation of any intention of commitment through talk of the positive features of relationships with unavailable men. A further way of talking introduces a 'new realism' in which relationships are depicted as right for a time but dispensable when their time is up. The analysis suggests that concepts of individualisation and impermanence in relationships provide new cultural resources that women can draw on in providing a self-narrative. The data demonstrate the detailed rhetorical work involved in producing a positive account of the self as a single woman

Blame · Discourse analysis · Discursive psychology · Epistemology · Impermanence · Linguistics · Narrative · Narrative inquiry · Realism · Rhetorical question · Sociology · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics · Computer Science · Counseling, Therapy, and Family Dynamics · Gender Studies · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Psychology · Social Psychology

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Open DOISci-HubOpen Access