ABSTRACT
In an era of powerful processes of individualization, issues of intimacy andcare have assumed a renewed importance for sociologists. The question of how people organize their personal lives, loving and caring for each other in contexts of social, cultural and economic change which increasingly demand the pursuit of individual life strategies is central to the sociological agenda of the 21st century. In this article we argue that if we are to understand the current state, and likely future, of intimacy and care, sociologists should décentre the 'family' and the heterosexual couple in our intellectual imaginaries. We recognize that the idea of 'family' retains an almost unparalleled ability to move people, both emotionally and politically. However, much that matters to people in terms of intimacy and care increasingly takes place beyond the 'family', between partners who are not living together 'as family', and within networks of friends.1
