What does it mean?
The concept was developed by Giddens in his 1992 book The Transformation of Intimacy. His argument is that notions of ‘romantic love’ were a product of modernity. Males and females had different roles within a relationship, (heterosexual) marriage was a desirable state and relationships were expected to last. He contrasts this with postmodernity, the emergence of ‘the self’ and reflexivity. In confluent love, people enter freely into a relationship based on their needs, and remain within it only as long as it meets those needs. Such relationships are democratic and are not necessarily monogamous, as partners may accept that each may have other sexual partners while in the relationship. Males do not form a partnership in order to have a homemaker, and females do not do so merely to have a provider.
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