IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/socres/v27y2022i4p964-983.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Swiping as a Single Mom: A First Look at the Experiences of Single Mothers Who Use Tinder

Author

Listed:
  • Maria Stoicescu

    (University of Bucharest, Romania)

  • Cosima RughiniÈ™

    (University of Bucharest, Romania)

Abstract

Single mothers who wish to find new dating partners must contend with a lack of free time and the demands of parenting. As online dating has become a more socially acceptable way to access social, romantic, and sexual opportunities, many single mothers are now considering the use of dating apps to pursue their goals. In this article, we explored the vocabularies of motive of single mothers who used the dating app Tinder. For this purpose, we applied the foundational theory of situated action and vocabularies of motive advanced by Mills, which explains how individuals justify their questioned choices and actions in relation to their identities and social contexts. We based our analysis on seven semi-structured interviews with single mothers and seven published accounts of single mothers’ online dating experiences. We identified four vocabularies of motive: (1) freedom and liberation; (2) entertainment; (3) cultivation of eroticism, intimacy, and a desired identity; and (4) temporal justifications. Based on our results, we determined that Tinder appeals to single mothers because of its popularity, potential for experimentation, and swift temporality, which allows these women to quickly access opportunities and synchronize complicated schedules.

Suggested Citation

  • Maria Stoicescu & Cosima RughiniÈ™, 2022. "Swiping as a Single Mom: A First Look at the Experiences of Single Mothers Who Use Tinder," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 27(4), pages 964-983, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:socres:v:27:y:2022:i:4:p:964-983
    DOI: 10.1177/13607804221117835
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13607804221117835
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/13607804221117835?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Charlotte Morris, 2015. "Considerations of Equality in Heterosexual Single Mothers’ Intimacy Narratives," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 20(4), pages 133-143, November.
    2. Linda L. Layne, 2015. "A Changing Landscape of Intimacy: The Case of a Single Mother by Choice," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 20(4), pages 156-171, November.
    3. Dries Van Gasse & Dimitri Mortelmans, 2020. "Single Mothers’ Perspectives on the Combination of Motherhood and Work," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-19, May.
    4. Kylie Baldwin, 2017. "‘I Suppose I Think to Myself, That's the Best Way to Be a Mother’: How Ideologies of Parenthood Shape Women's Use of Social Egg Freezing Technology," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 22(2), pages 20-34, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Inhorn, Marcia C. & Birenbaum-Carmeli, Daphna & Vale, Mira D. & Patrizio, Pasquale, 2020. "Abrahamic traditions and egg freezing: Religious Women's experiences in local moral worlds," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 253(C).
    2. Nicky Hudson, 2017. "Making ‘Assisted World Families’? Parenting Projects and Family Practices in the Context of Globalised Gamete Donation," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 22(2), pages 48-58, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:socres:v:27:y:2022:i:4:p:964-983. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.