Analyzing a New Ideal of Love/Intimacy Focused on the Self and the Influence of Psychology and Therapy

Abstract

    This study examines a late modern ideal of love in the United States from a cultural perspective – it considers Anthony Giddens's theory of intimacy and other previous studies. The need to focus on cultural aspects such as the self and the influence of therapy when examining the ideal of love in the United States in the 1970s is confirmed. Selected books from this perspective are examined to depict a new ideal of love that has gained popularity in the United States since the 1970s, and the characteristics of this love and its background are analyzed. The ideal of love emphasizes autonomy and equality as well as negotiation between men and women. It emphasizes intimate communication through expression of one's own feelings and self-disclosure, and in dealing with problems in relationships. This ideal of love has been influenced by therapeutic movements and second-wave feminism which gained popularity after the late 1960s. It should be acknowledged that the transformation of the family and intimacy in the late modern era is clarified not only by socio-economic and institutional aspects but also by cultural aspects.