ABSTRACT
The relationship between intimacy, reflexivity and identity has been the focus of an explosion of interest in contemporary social science in the last decade. Key social theorists have made a significant contribution to contemporary theoretical and philosophical thinking which has had global ramifications for the social sciences. Contemporary social theorists such as Giddens (1991, 1992) Beck (1994, 2000a, 200b), Beck-Gernsheim (1996), Bauman (2000), Lash (1994), as well as feminist and gender theorists McNay (1999, 2000, 2004), Adkins (2003, 2004) and Plummer (2003), have redefined the relationship between reflexivity, intimacy and identity which has led to a significant rethinking of issues such as social justice, individualization and the democratization of relationships. This is closely related to the impact of globalization on questions of
cultured, gendered, and ethnic identities within late modernity. Philosophical debates concerned with intimacy, reflexivity and identity are located at the intersecting nexus of contemporary social theorizing, particularly the ‘reflexive modernization thesis’ (Beck et al. 1994; Beck and Beck-Gernsheim, 1996; Giddens 1991, 1992; Lash 1994) with gender and feminist theorizing. This book seeks to explore these frameworks for understanding gender relationships in the West and considers to what extent these frameworks have a universal application by examining their relevance in contemporary Asia.
