Heartland

From hard and fast hook-ups to loneliness, deep love and even climate change stress, I want to understand the whole gamut of modern love. I want to know the heartland.

Stump, 30, has a knack for getting herself into unusual dating situations

Alex, 25, streams porn for four hours each day

Ku, 25, relies on alcohol to meet people and push boundaries during sex

Michael, 36, discovers polyamory after raising kids

Cassandra, 26, mixes kink with sex work

Finding love and quenching lust are desires humankind has sought for millennia. Today the internet plays a key role in how we find companionship and connection, but for writer Jennifer Pinkerton - who's traversing her own ups and downs in love and commitment - this new era of dating apps, omnipresent porn and increasingly fluid identities begs the question: what is the future of modern love?

This one-of-a-kind book blends reportage, memoir, extensive research and lyrical prose to take us on a journey into the heart-scapes of young Australians. Informed by interviews with more than 100 people under 40 - from transgender Aboriginal sistagirls in the Tiwi Islands to conservative Catholics living in Sydney - this book explores the hopes, fears and realities of romantic relationships at a time marked by great expectations and far fewer rules.

Heartland is a probing and insightful exploration of how love, sex and dating are changing - for better or worse. It gives us a window into the way we live now, and what this might mean for our futures.

'A warm and curious gaze upon this new landscape of sex and love . . . But it's Pinkerton's own journey through love and loss - offering glimpses into the author's heart, revealing bruises and aches, those almost unbearable aspects of love - that is most compelling.' Anna Krien, award-winning author of Night Games

There would be very few among us who, deep in the wilds of the dating tundra, wouldn't have thought in frustration, I just wish I knew what they're thinking! Well, that is exactly what journalist and author Jennifer Pinkerton seeks to find out in her book Heartland, an insightful and intriguing examination of the psychology of dating, sex, love, marriage and relationships of all forms. Through more than 70 interviews with participants of varied genders, generations and cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, paired with fascinating discussions with leading cultural and social psychologists in the field, Pinkerton explores the shifting landscape of expectations, hopes, dreams and beliefs when it comes to love. Against the backdrop of Australia as it navigates devastating climate emergencies and life with Covid-19, Heartland takes us from the halls of the Australian National University to the shores of the Tiwi Islands, addressing topics such as love in lockdown, dating app usage, pornography consumption, polyamory and ethical non-monogamy, and more. This is a book that will cause deep introspection and reflection, and rightly so: examining our own beliefs and aspirations around sex, love and relationships serves to nurture better individuals as well as better lovers and partners. Readers of Esther Perel's Mating in Captivity and Dossie Easton and Janet Hardy's The Ethical Slut will find Heartland an absorbing and illuminating companion read. Georgia Brough is a teacher, critic and writer. Read her interview with Jennifer Pinkerton about Heartland here.

Jennifer Pinkerton is a writer, photographer and producer. She's written stories and journalism for The Guardian, National Geographic, the UK Telegraph, the Courier-Mail, the Canberra Times and Qantas magazine, among other publications. Previously, she worked as a federal press-gallery gofer; as a features editor on a health magazine; and as an editor and writer on art, architecture and women-focused titles. She's also helped launch live storytelling events, including the Top End's Spun: True Tales Told in the Territory, and Canberra's first Language Party, which celebrated the United Nations International Year of Indigenous Languages. Jennifer has exhibited her photography in Perth, Canberra and Darwin, holds a doctorate in creative arts and teaches at Charles Darwin University. She lives in the Northern Territory with her good mates-heat and humidity.

Based on interviews across Australia, Heartland guides readers through the intimate world of love, sex, dating, and commitment among millennials and Generation Z. From hard and fast hook-ups to loneliness, deep love and even climate change stress, I want to understand the whole gamut of modern love. I want to know the heartland. Stump, 30, has a knack for getting herself into unusual dating situations Alex, 25, streams porn for four hours each day Ku, 25, relies on alcohol to meet people and push boundaries during sex Michael, 36, discovers polyamory after raising kids Cassandra, 26, mixes kink with sex work Finding love and quenching lust are desires humankind has sought for millennia. Today the internet plays a key role in how we find companionship and connection, but for writer Jennifer Pinkerton - who's traversing her own ups and downs in love and commitment - this new era of dating apps, omnipresent porn and increasingly fluid identities begs the question: what is the future of modern love? This one-of-a-kind book blends reportage, memoir, extensive research and lyrical prose to take us on a journey into the heart-scapes of young Australians. Informed by interviews with more than 100 people under 40 - from transgender Aboriginal sistagirls in the Tiwi Islands to conservative Catholics living in Sydney - this book explores the hopes, fears and realities of romantic relationships at a time marked by great expectations and far fewer rules. Heartland is a probing and insightful exploration of how love, sex and dating are changing - for better or worse. It gives us a window into the way we live now, and what this might mean for our futures. 'A warm and curious gaze upon this new landscape of sex and love . . . But it's Pinkerton's own journey through love and loss - offering glimpses into the author's heart, revealing bruises and aches, those almost unbearable aspects of love - that is most compelling.' Anna Krien, award-winning author of Night Games

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