A translation of excerpts from the book : Free Together: Individualism Within Communal Life François de Singly Paris-Descartes University-French

Abstract

This paperaims to present a summarizedreading of the work of French sociologist François de Singly, specialized in the sociology of contemporaryfamilies, "Free Together:IndividualismwithinShared Life." De Singly explains how individuals’ situations—whether in relationships, families, or groups—lead to a dual life composed of personal time and shared time. Eachpersonsimultaneouslyfindsthemselves "alone" and "together." It is, therefore, about finding a solution to the tension betweenbeingoneself and living collectively, betweenindividuality and community. The studydraws on eightresearchprojectsconducted on youngadults in relationships/marriages, elderlyindividuals, children, and adolescents. It is a concept of separationwith the neutral presence of twobanks. Advanced modernity, whichbegan in 1970, established the legitimacy of doors (do not enter, do not disturb). However, thisdevelopmentremainslimitedconcerningwomen, despite Virginia Woolf’sdemand in her book « A Room of One’sOwn », published in 1929, thateverywoman in a bond/marriage "must have some money and a room of herown if sheis to write fiction"