ABSTRACT
Adelman 1992: 460) remain unfulfilled. The growth of commercialised social
introduction services in recent times can be considered symptomatic of theoretical
claims for the move to a ‘consumer culture’; the increasing rise of the market mode
of provision is leading to the ‘incorporation of new domains into the commodity
market’, ‘reconstructing social life on a market basis’ (Fairclough 1995: 141) and
creating a ‘new’ breed of consumer. It is argued that free from any external social
forces, ‘enterprising selves’ have a responsibility to find meaning and existence by
shaping specific lives through ‘autonomous’ acts of choice (Bauman 1988). This
shaping and fulfilment of the life project of the self is greatly facilitated by the ‘self
help’ services provided by the market (Rose 1992: 142). Involuntary singleness
increasingly becomes a ‘personal’ problem and its solution a ‘matter for oneself’
that market intermediaries can alleviate. Or can they?
