Individualism and Responsibility: Women’s Relationships Within Their Families

Abstract

In Chapter 2 I discussed Giddens’ (1991, 1992) argument that the freeing of sex from reproduction results in plastic sexuality and the transformation of intimacy, contrasting it with Beck and Beck-Gernsheim’s (1995, 2001) argument that individualization, particularly that of women, threatens the institution of family. Beck and Beck-Gernsheim argue that the contradiction between the flexibility and mobility required to succeed in the job market and the stability and rootedness required to create a strong family life can threaten the family. In spite of these crucial differences, both theorists are united in the position that modernity strengthens individualization.