Soulmates, compatibility and intimacy: Allied discursive resources in the struggle for relationship satisfaction in the new millennium

In OECD countries unprecedented numbers of adults are remaining single and childfree during their prime decades of fertility. In order to explicate this phenomenon interview-transcripts from thirteen single women and men, plus texts from Internet dating and information sites, were analyzed for the discursive resources being deployed by this second generation of the post-1960s relationship revolution. The efficacy of romantic love assumptions and practices to produce stableenough relationships is questioned. Discourse analysis revealed new discourses of compatibility, soulmates and intimacy are being constructed in the hope of achieving more fulfilling and stable relationships. An historical survey of paradigm shifts over centuries shows the discourse of romantic love is embedded in the individualistic assumptions of capitalism. The newer discourses of relationship deploy holistic assumptions of connectedness, communication, mutuality, cooperation and responsibility which, we theorize, complement a politico-socioeconomic paradigm shift from capitalist discourse to environmental discourse. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.