Touch and contact during COVID-19 : Insights from queer digital spaces

Cheded, Mohammed and Skandalis, Alexandros (2021) Touch and contact during COVID-19 : Insights from queer digital spaces. Gender, Work and Organization, 28 (Suppl.). pp. 340-347. ISSN 0968-6673

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Abstract

The aim of this conceptual paper is to discuss the transformation of socialisation processes due to the digitalisation of entertainment and community formation during COVID-19. More specifically, we focus on alternative modes of touch and contact within the context of queer digital entertainment spaces and question how the world is shaped and sensed in a (post-) COVID-19 era. Inspired by the work of Karen Barad on a quantum theory of queer intimacies, we highlight that the rise of hybridised experiences in-between physical and digital spaces captures a series of spatio-temporal, material and symbolic dimensions of touch and contact. We conclude by drawing implications for the future of organisations and work.