The Commodification of Love in Neoliberalism: Affect, Attachment, and Desire

Abstract

This thesis explores how neoliberal capitalism commodifies love, intimacy, and desire, reframing them as sites of competition, branding, and consumption. Focusing specifically on how patriarchal structures affect women within heterosexual, heteronormative relationships, I argue that contemporary romantic practices treat emotional connection as a marketable good, with women bearing particular burdens under these market-driven logics. The project is grounded in feminist critique, affect theory, and Lauren Berlant's concept of cruel optimism, which reveals how women remain attached to romantic ideals that ultimately obstruct fulfilment. Methodologically, the thesis adopts a practice-based approach, pairing theoretical inquiry with creative writing as an embodied form of research. Short fiction serves as a research method alongside traditional academic analysis, allowing readers to experience the emotional contradictions of commodified love rather than simply understanding them intellectually. By combining critical analysis with narrative, the project demonstrates how love operates under capitalism for women in heteronormative relationships, not only as an idea to be analysed but as a lived experience with real emotional consequences.