Book review: from sex writing to the works of Plato: exploring the sociology of relationships in the contemporary world

Eva Illouz’s new book on the sociology of contemporary relationships is not simply a feminist text that laments the plight of women. Jacqui Gabb finds that Illouz unpicks the artifice of evolutionary biology and psycho-dynamic accounts which seek to cleave open ‘natural’ differences between men and women. The author’s positioning of emotions as part of social structures is a timely provocation and makes a valuable contribution to the sociology of emotions, but there is weakness in her focus on heteronormative relationships. Why Love Hurts: A Sociological Explanation. Eva Illouz. Polity Press. March 2012. 300 pages.