Thesis Title: Subtitle

Friendship: The History of a Concept

Typically, friendship has been regarded as both an indicator of social integration as well as being significant in promoting physical and mental wellbeing (Caine 2009). Friendship is defined as an “exceptionally strong relationship with expectations for emotional and practical support” (boyd 2006: np). Friendship is further conceptualised as individualised, voluntary, and private as it is a non-specialised relationship that falls outside the concern of formal social structures such as the legal system (Silver 1990; Pahl 2000; Eve 2002). Previous social research highlights the affective and supportive aspects of friendship (Gouldern and Strong 1987; Wellman 1992) and concerns itself with close dyadic friendships (Oliker 1989; Eve 2002). In reality friendship exists on a continuum from close, or best, friends to more acquaintance-like ties (Eve 2002).

Friendship in contemporary Western culture is generally defined in relation to its affective or emotional qualities. From the sociological literature it is apparent that friendship is largely defined as relational, private, individualised, supportive, voluntary and affective (Gouldern and Strong 1987; Oliker 1989; Wellman 1992; Pahl 2000; Eve 2002; Pahl and Spencer 2004). Friendship is also concerned with the revelation and improvement of the

self. Cocking and Matthews (2001) argue that one of the key features of friendship is the gradual revelation of the self. The emphasis on defining friendship as an affective relationship as opposed to an instrumental one echoes Giddens’ (1992: 59) concept of a pure relationship which:

refers to a situation where a social relation is entered into for its own sake, for what can be derived by each person from a sustained association with another; and which is continued only in so far as it is thought by both parties to deliver enough satisfactions for each individual to stay within it.

While this concept is primarily employed with regards to romantic relationships, it also may be useful when examining friendships, given that they are increasingly defined in affective terms. This is a marked break from their instrumental roots, in which friendships while based on affection, were valued primarily because they were politically, socially and economically advantageous. However, this does not mean that instrumentality is absent from considerations of friendship. The shift from instrumental understandings of friendship to affect based definitions will be explored in more detail in the following section.