Intimacy as a Double-Edged Phenomenon? An Empirical Test of Giddens

In a series of books published since 1990, Anthony Giddens has explored the impact of globalization on the personal relationships and inner lives of those living in the advanced capitalist societies of the West. Of particular interest to him have been intimate, sexual relationships, which he views as tending, under the weight of globalization, away from a "traditional" model and toward a "posttraditional" form in which the relationship is seen as a means to self-development and is expected to be dissolved when it no longer serves this purpose. These posttraditional or "pure love" relationships, Giddens argues, hold great promise for human freedom and happiness, but are so unpredictable that they also threaten to overwhelm people with anxiety and lead them to engage in compensatory addictive behaviors. This article empirically examines Giddens's claims. Data come from a nationally representative survey of Americans in midlife. Results show that people in pure love relationships reap the rewards to which Giddens points, but experience few of the negative side effects. The theoretical implications of the findings are considered.

[1]  Naomi Gerstel,et al.  Talk of Love: How Culture Matters , 2002 .

[2]  Mauro F. Guillén,et al.  Is Globalization Civilizing, Destructive or Feeble? A Critique of Five Key Debates in the Social Science Literature , 2001 .

[3]  D. Jary,et al.  The Contemporary Giddens: Social Theory in a Globalizing Age , 2001 .

[4]  Anthony Mcgrew,et al.  Global Transformations: Politics, Economics, and Culture , 2000 .

[5]  Ann Swidler.  Talk of Love: How Culture Matters , 2000 .

[6]  L. Jamieson.  Intimacy Transformed? A Critical Look at the `Pure Relationship' , 1999 .

[7]  R. Sills,et al.  The Third Way: The Renewal of Social Democracy , 1999 .

[8]  C. Hay,et al.  Theorising Modernity: Reflexivity, Environment & Identity in Giddens' Social Theory , 1998 .

[9]  Kenneth H. Tucker.  Anthony Giddens and Modern Social Theory , 1998 .

[10]  Aaron Ahuvia,et al.  Consuming the Romantic Utopia: Love and the Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism , 1998 .

[11]  Stjepan G. Mestrovic,et al.  Anthony Giddens: The Last Modernist , 1998 .

[12]  L. Jamieson.  Intimacy: Personal Relationships in Modern Societies , 1998 .

[13]  J. Sprague.  HOLY MEN AND BIG GUNS , 1997 .

[14]  David R Hall.  Marriage as a Pure Relationship: Exploring the Link between Premarital Cohabitation and Divorce in Canada , 1996 .

[15]  J. Alway.  The trouble with gender : tales of the still-missing feminist revolution in sociological theory , 1995 .

[16]  S. Seidman,et al.  Romantic Longings: Love in America, 1830-1980. , 1992 .

[17]  S. Kern.  The Culture of Love: Victorians to Moderns , 1992 .

[18]  A. Giddens.  The Transformation of Intimacy: Sexuality, Love, and Eroticism in Modern Societies , 1992 .

[19]  T. Boswell.  Sociology of the Global System.Leslie Sklair , 1992 .

[20]  D. Jary,et al.  Giddens' Theory of Structuration: A Critical Appreciation , 1990 .

[21]  P. Bourdieu.  The Logic of Practice , 1990 .

[22]  HeldThompson.  Social Theory of Modern Societies: Anthony Giddens and His Critics , 1990 .

[23]  W. Sewell.  A Theory of Structure: Duality, Agency, and Transformation , 1989, American Journal of Sociology.

[24]  John Urry,et al.  The End of Organized Capitalism , 1989 .

[25]  N. Luhmann.  Love as Passion: The Codification of Intimacy , 1988 .

[26]  Ellen K. Rothman,et al.  Hands and Hearts: A History of Courtship in America , 1986 .

[27]  H. Lantz,et al.  Hands and Hearts: A History of Courtship in America. , 1985 .

[28]  A. Callinicos.  Anthony Giddens , 1985 .

[29]  J. Seelig.  : Haven in a Heartless World: The Family Besieged , 1978 .

[30]  C. Lasch.  Haven in a Heartless World The Family Besieged , 1978 .

[31]  L. Stone.  The Family, Sex and Marriage in England 1500-1800. , 1977 .

[32]  A. Reiss,,et al.  Occupations and Social Status , 1962 .

[33]  W. Sewell.  Infant Training and the Personality of the Child , 1952, American Journal of Sociology.

[34]  W. Thomas,et al.  The Unadjusted Girl , 1924 .

[35]  A. Kellerman,et al.  The Constitution of Society : Outline of the Theory of Structuration , 2015 .

[36]  Martin O'Brien,et al.  Theorising modernity : reflexivity, identity and environment in Giddens' social theory. , 1999 .

[37]  A. Giddens.  Runaway World: How Globalization is Reshaping Our Lives , 1999 .

[38]  Carrie R. Leana.  The Corrosion of Character: The Personal Consequences of Work in the New Capitalism , 1998 .

[39]  R. Schaeffer,et al.  The Global Age: State and Society beyond Modernity. , 1998 .

[40]  Otis Dudley Duncan,et al.  A socioeconomic index for all occupations. , 1996 .

[41]  Ulrich Beck,et al.  The Normal Chaos of Love , 1995 .

[42]  Mathias Bös.  Globalization - Social Theory and Global Culture , 1994 .

[43]  A. Giddens,et al.  Reflexive Modernization: Politics, Tradition and Aesthetics in the Modern Social Order , 1994 .

[44]  S. Seidman.  Embattled Eros: Sexual Politics and Ethics in Contemporary America , 1992 .

[45]  Gillian Rose,et al.  The condition of postmodernity: an enquiry into the origins of cultural change , 1991 .

[46]  A. Giddens.  The consequences of modernity , 1990 .

[47]  I. Cohen,et al.  Structuration Theory: Anthony Giddens and the Constitution of Social Life. , 1990 .

[48]  Karen Lystra,et al.  Searching the Heart: Women, Men, and Romantic Love in Nineteenth-Century America , 1989 .

[49]  Ira J. Cohen,et al.  Structuration Theory and Social Praxis , 1989 .

[50]  Ira J. Cohen.  Structuration Theory: Anthony Giddens and the Constitution of Social Life , 1989 .

[51]  A. Sica.  Weber, irrationality, and social order , 1988 .

[52]  D. Vaughan,et al.  Uncoupling: Turning Points in Intimate Relationships. , 1988 .

[53]  Anthony Giddens,et al.  Social Theory Today , 1987 .

[54]  A. Giddens.  Central Problems In Social Theory , 1979 .

[55]  Michel Foucault.  The History of Sexuality , 1976 .