Sex and Social Order: The Transformation of Intimacy by Anthony Giddens

The evolution of modern capitalist and democratic society is inextricably bound to the development of human sexuality. As economic needs shifted and classes formed, the role of reproduction in sexual relations began to wane while the notion of romantic love for personal fulfillment gained significance. Industrialization and advancements in contraception radically altered interactions between men and women, while the rise of psychoanalysis recalibrated constructions of gender identities. Contemporary ideas about sexuality, as the relationships between sex, love, gender, and intimacy are a direct result of modernity. What was once private was now being brought into the light of the public domain. During the nineteenth century, relationships that were once initiated due to financial need or the pull of procreation began to revolve around passion and courtship. In his text The Transformation of Intimacy, Anthony Giddens posits that the rise of the modern global and democratic society fundamentally changed the shape of all human interactions, from sex to love to pure companionship.