ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the importance with which communication, or mutual disclosure, is afforded within late modern relationships. It helps to develop a detailed understanding of what is represented by the term intimacy within both sociological understanding and the popular discourses that influence the couples interviewed. The chapter discusses the methodological challenges of assessing intimacy and communication within the participants' relationships, followed by a breakdown of the interview and focus group data which focuses on gender and generational differences in expressions of intimacy. Love is described in equal terms by both generations and genders, in that all regard it as crucial to their relationships. The chapter explains that this does not indicate that love is a transcendent, timeless emotion, rather it suggests that to admit that one do not love his/her partner passionately but are content within their relationship is socially unacceptable for western individuals of all ages and genders.
