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

The aim of this conceptual paper is to discuss the transformation of socialization processes due to the digitalization 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 hybridized experiences in-between physical and digital spaces captures a series of spatiotemporal, material, and symbolic dimensions of touch and contact. We conclude by drawing implications for the future of organizations and work.