Shifting states of love and intimacy

Abstract

Love and intimacy are personal as well as political; they are concepts that are multidimensional, complex, and, sometimes, contradictory; and are meaningful to institutions and states as well as individuals. Dynamic local and global forces generate shifts in perceptions and experiences of intimacy and love, which are mediated by a wide variety of actors, ideals, beliefs and practices. This introduction to the special issue of shifting states of love, intimacy and intimate citizenship explores how these experiences are shaped by political, sociocultural, legal and intimate borders and boundaries, both literal and metaphorical. The article points to intimate relationships that, in various ways, challenge or transgress normative boundaries, but which are simultaneously experienced as empowering and deeply meaningful to those involved. This introduction to the special issue, as a collection of ethnographically rich analyses of loving, proffers new insights into the emergence of various forms of intimacies: from love across state borders, polygamous intimacies, transnational, intercultural and online love and dating, to interspecies intimacies based on mutual love and care.