IMAGINING THE ABSENT PARTNER - INTIMACY AND IMAGINATION IN LONG-DISTANCE RELATIONSHIPS |
Iveta Jurkane-Hobein Abstract The dominant discourse on relationships in modernity argues for the importance of intimacy, including the intimacy of bodies, for the relationship to be continuous. This raises the question as to how couples that cannot meet face-to-face on a regular basis due to geographical distance maintain intimacy during repetitious non-co-presence. In this article, intimacy is seen as a relational quality that is created and maintained by individuals themselves through practices of intimacy (Jamieson, 2011). The study aims to analyse practices of intimacy in long-distance relationships (LDRs) that enable long-distance couples to make their relationship continuous beyond face-to-face encounters. The study is based on 19 in-depth interviews with individuals in Latvia with LDR experience, and argues that the intimacy practices in LDRs trigger imagination. Imagination, in its turn, enables practicing four dimensions of intimacy: embodied, emotional, daily and imagined. Key words: imagination; intimacy; long-distance relationships; mediated communication; practices of intimacy. Iveta Jurkane-Hobein - School of Social Sciences, Södertörn University, Sweden; Department of Sociology, Uppsala University, Sweden Cite this article:
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