The Transformation of Intimacy: Sexuality, Love and Eroticism in Modern Societies - Couverture souple

Giddens, Anthony

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0804722145 ISBN 13 : 9780804722148

Editeur : Stanford University Press, 1993

Synopsis

The sexual revolution: an evocative term, but what meaning can be given to it today? How does "sexuality" come into being, and what connections does it have with the changes that have affected personal life more generally? In answering these questions, the author disputes many of the dominant interpretations of the role of sexuality in modern culture.

The author suggests that the revolutionary changes in which sexuality has become cauth up are more long-term than generally conceded. He sees them as intrinsic to the development of modern societies as a whole and to the broad characteristics of that development. Sexuality as we know it today is a creation of modernity, a terrain upon which the contradictory tendencies of modern social life play themselves out in full. Emancipation and oppression, opportunity and risk--these have become a part of a heady mix that irresistably ties our individual lives to global outcomes and the transformation of intimacy.

We live today in a social order in which, for the first time in histroy, women are becoming equal to men--or at least have lodged a claim to such equality as their right. The author does not attempt to analyze the gender inequalities that persist in the economic or political domains, but instead concentrates on a more hisdden personal area in which women--ordinary women, in the course of their day-to-day lives, quite apart from any political agenda--have pioneered changes of greate, and generalizable, importance. These changes essentially concern an exploration of the potentialities of the "pure relationship," a relaitonship that presumes sexual and emotional equality, and is explosive in its connotations for pre-existing relations of power.

The author analyzes the emergence of what he calls plastic sexuality--sexuality freed from its intrinsic relation to reproduction--in terms of the emotional emancipation implicit in the pure relationship, as well as women's claim to sexual pleasure. Plastic sexuality is decentered sexuality, freed from both reproduction and subservience to a fixed object. It can be molded as a trait of personality, and thus become bound up with the reflexivity of the self. Premised on plastic sexuality, the pure relationship is not exclusively heterosexual; it is neutral in terms of sexual orientation.

The author speculates that the transformaion of intimacy might be a subversive influence on modern institutions as a whole, for a social world in which the dominant ideal was to achieve intinsic rewards from the company of others might be vastly different from that which we know at the present.

A propos du livre

Revue de presse

′It is difficult to imagine social–scientific thought and practice in Britain and much of Continental Europe without the distinctive contribution of Anthony Giddens. His prolific work has the unique merit of tying together the rich tradition of modern social thought with the challenges of whatever is new and unprecedented in what he has called the ′late modern′ or ′post–traditional′ world.′ Times Literary Supplement

′The major achievement of Professor Giddens is to have written a book which is both politically correct and interesting ... an immensely enjoyable book.′ Political Studies

′Interesting and informative, thoughtful and thought provoking, concise and to the point.′ Contemporary Sociology

′A powerful, and often brilliantly provocative, theory of how sexuality and gender are reproduced and transformed ... a model of theoretically informed, empirically based sociological analysis that will be of great interest to all those concerned with the trajectory of sexuality, gender, and identity in modern social processes.′ The Times Higher Education Supplement

Présentation de l'éditeur

The sexual revolution: an evocative term, but what meaning can be given to it today? How does ′sexuality′ come into being and what connections does it have with the changes that have affected personal life on a more general plane? In answering these questions, Anthony Giddens disputes many of the dominant interpretations of the role of sexuality in modern culture. The emergence of what the author calls plastic sexuality – sexuality freed from its intrinsic relation to reproduction – is analysed in terms of the long–term development of the modern social order and social influences of the last few decades. Giddens argues that the transformation of intimacy, in which women have played the major part, holds out the possibility of a radical democratization of the personal sphere.

This book will appeal to a large general audience as well as being essential reading for students and professionals.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Stanford University Press
• Date d'édition: 1993
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0804722145
• ISBN 13: 9780804722148
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 216
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible