The imperative of images: construction of affinities through the cuse of digital media

Abstract

Based upon ethnographic research conducted in relationship sites and applications used by people seeking affective/sexual relationships, the present article analyzes how digital media has been incorporated into the daily lives of heterosexual women aged 35-48, understood to be "independent" and "middle class" and residing in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Autonomy, liberty and affinity are recurrent terms in the narratives of these women, leading us to questions regarding what is involved in their choice of partners whose affinities are described in terms of their similarities with the women's levels of social and cultural capital. These affinities are initially perceived through the digital circulation of photos, which are read not only according to the physical appearance of their subjects, but also according to their surroundings - objects and landscapes - which provoke the imagination with regards to the subjects' "lifestyles". Looking at the play of these new dynamics, I seek to understand how differences (in terms of class, generation, race/color, localization, etc.) operate in women's selection of partners.