New social ties : contemporary connections in a fragmented society

This book explores new social ties and forms of intimate bonding. Social and personal relationships are being profoundly transformed by changing lifestyles triggered by perceived crises in family, community, work and leisure, and by developments in global media technologies. Are friendships now being authenticated as non-hierarchical and flexible? Deborah Chambers draws on debates in social, feminist and queer theory to assess emerging practice, values and representations about friendship as relations of power, identity and resistance. The book recenters personal relationships within social and cultural theory. Written For A Student And Researcher Audience In Sociology, Cultural Studies And Communication, New Social Ties Draws On The Metaphor Of Friendship As A Strategy To Explore Contemporary Changes In Informal Social Ties In Western Societies. Deborah Chambers Traces The Shift From Stable, Fixed, And Permanent Ties Of Family, Neighbourhood And Community To Fluid, Voluntary And Transient Ties Typified By Computer Mediated Communication. The Author Argues That A Friendship Discourse Offers A Way Of Managing Rapid Changes In Social Ties. With A Focus On Relations Of Gender, She Examines The Way Friendship Is Used As A Resource To Maintain Relations Of Power And Reshape Identities Through Patterns Of Association Ranging From Gendered Work And Leisure Networks, Virtual Communities, Internet Dating And Mobile Phone Use. Characterized By Informality, Speed And Interactions Over Distance, New Social Ties Coincide With New Ideas About The 'self', Intimacy, And Belonging, Thereby Generating Government And Academic Anxieties About The Collapse Of Community. The Author Argues That A Friendship Discourse Has Become A Potent Signifier Of The Aspiration For Future Relationships To Be Defined By Equality And Mutual Respect. 'friendship' Has Become A Powerful Symbol Of The Postmodern Condition, Raising Critical Moral Questions About Trust, Care And Responsibility For The Other. Cover -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- New Social Ties And The Friendship Ideal -- Postmodern Associations And Identities -- Outline Of The Book -- 1 Changing Ideas About Social Ties -- The Aristotelian Legacy -- Scottish Moral Philosophy And New Codes Of Liberal And Fraternal Values -- Nineteenth-century Tensions Between Community And Individuality -- Twentieth-century Community, Family And Friendship -- Conclusion -- 2 Freedom And Choice In Personal Relationships -- The Individual-centred Society -- A Critique Of The 'pure Relationship' -- Family As Friends? -- Conclusion -- 3 Hegemonic Masculine Identities And Male Bonds -- Changing Approaches To Male Friendship -- Male Bonding And Gender Differentiation -- Traditional Forms Of Public Male Solidarity -- Peer Regulation Of Male Heterosexual Identities -- Alternative Masculinities And Male Bonding -- Conclusion -- 4 Feminine Identities And Female Bonds -- Female Friendship And The Nurturing Self --^ Support Networks Among Women With Families -- Employed Women And Networks Of Power -- Representations Of Female Singletons' Group Leisure -- Conclusion -- 5 The Decline And Rise Of 'community' -- The Collapse Of Community? -- The Culture-bound Nature Of Social Capital -- Class And Social Capital -- The Decline Of Democratic Citizenship? -- Beyond Social Capital -- New Forms Of Belonging: Queer Communities, Friendship And Families Of Choice -- Conclusion -- 6 Network Society -- The Networked Individual -- Networked Work -- Online And Offline Sociality -- Virtual Communities Of Care And 'real Virtuality' -- Ethnic Identity Politics And Diasporic Networks -- Conclusion -- 7 Virtual Intimacy And Online Sociality -- Internet-initiated Intimacy -- Interaction And Intimacy On The Mobile Phone -- Conclusion -- 8 The Politics Of Social And Personal Relationships -- Decline In Trust And Rise In Moral Standards? -- Friendship, Hospitality And Social Justice --^ A Postmodern Feminist Ethics Of Care -- Responsibility For The Other -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- V -- W -- Y -- Last Page. Deborah Chambers. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 169-200) And Index. Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 6 Acknowledgements......Page 8 New social ties and the friendship ideal......Page 10 Postmodern associations and identities......Page 15 Outline of the book......Page 17 1 Changing Ideas about Social Ties......Page 22 The Aristotelian legacy......Page 24 Scottish moral philosophy and new codes of liberal and fraternal values......Page 25 Nineteenth-century tensions between community and individuality......Page 28 Twentieth-century community, family and friendship......Page 32 Conclusion......Page 40 2 Freedom and Choice in Personal Relationships......Page 42 The individual-centred society......Page 43 A critique of the ‘pure relationship’......Page 52 Family as friends?......Page 54 Conclusion......Page 57 3 Hegemonic Masculine Identities and Male Bonds......Page 59 Changing approaches to male friendship......Page 60 Male bonding and gender differentiation......Page 62 Traditional forms of public male solidarity......Page 65 Peer regulation of male heterosexual identities......Page 71 Alternative masculinities and male bonding......Page 75 Conclusion......Page 79 4 Feminine Identities and Female Bonds......Page 80 Female friendship and the nurturing self......Page 81 Support networks among women with families......Page 84 Employed women and networks of power......Page 86 Representations of female singletons’ group leisure......Page 89 Conclusion......Page 99 5 The Decline and Rise of ‘Community’......Page 101 The collapse of community?......Page 102 The culture-bound nature of social capital......Page 106 Class and social capital......Page 109 The decline of democratic citizenship?......Page 111 Beyond social capital......Page 112 New forms of belonging: queer communities, friendship and families of choice......Page 114 Conclusion......Page 120 6 Network Society......Page 122 The networked individual......Page 123 Networked work......Page 125 Online and offline sociality......Page 127 Virtual communities of care and ‘real virtuality’......Page 129 Ethnic identity politics and diasporic networks......Page 134 Conclusion......Page 140 7 Virtual Intimacy and Online Sociality......Page 142 Internet-initiated intimacy......Page 143 Interaction and intimacy on the mobile phone......Page 154 Conclusion......Page 160 8 The Politics of Social and Personal Relationships......Page 163 Decline in trust and rise in moral standards?......Page 165 Friendship, hospitality and social justice......Page 170 A postmodern feminist ethics of care......Page 174 Responsibility for the Other......Page 177 Notes......Page 178 Bibliography......Page 186 C......Page 210 E......Page 211 H......Page 212 L......Page 213 N......Page 214 R......Page 215 T......Page 216 Y......Page 217 Deborah Chambers draws on the metaphor of friendship as a strategy for exploring contemporary changes in informal social ties. She traces the shift from fixed and permanent ties of family, neighbourhood and community to fluid and transient ties typified by computer mediated communication. Written for a student and researcher audience in sociology, cultural studies and communication, New Social Ties draws on the metaphor of friendship as a strategy to explore contemporary changes in informal social ties in western societies. Deborah Chambers traces the shift from stable, fixed, and permanent ties of family, neighbourhood and community to fluid, voluntary and transient ties typified by computer mediated communication. The author argues that a friendship discourse offers a way of managing rapid changes in social ties. With a focus on relations of gender, she examines the way friendship is used as a resource to maintain relations of power and reshape identities through patterns of association ranging from gendered work and leisure networks, virtual communities, Internet dating and mobile phone use. Characterized by informality, speed and interactions over distance, new social ties coincide with new ideas about the 'self', intimacy, and belonging, thereby generating government and academic anxieties about the collapse of community. The author argues that a friendship discourse has become a potent signifier of the aspiration for future relationships to be defined by equality and mutual respect. 'Friendship' has become a powerful symbol of the postmodern condition, raising critical moral questions about trust, care and responsibility for the Other "This book explores new social ties and forms of intimate bonding. Social and personal relationships are being profoundly transformed by changing lifestyles triggered by perceived crises in family, community, work and leisure, and by developments in global media technologies. Are friendships now being authenticated as non-hierarchical and flexible? Deborah Chambers draws on debates in social, feminist and queer theory to assess emerging practice, values and representations about friendship as relations of power, identity and resistance. The book recenters personal relationships within social and cultural theory."--publisher website Exploring new social ties and forms of intimate bonding, this text draws on debates in social, feminist and queer theory in order to evaluate whether or not friendships are now authenticated as non-hierarchical and flexible