63However, several studies empirically demonstrated that individuals are
far from socially isolated, and families still matter in late modernity even
if relational arrangements are more diverse and fluid (Bengston et al.
2001 ; Finch and Mason 1993 ; Morgan 1996 ; Widmer 2016 ). Moreover,
the overestimation of the exercise of choice in the development of per-
sonal networks has been debated, as relationships are still unequal and
diverse along the social spectrum (Wall et al. 2001 ; Jamieson 1998 ). Even
friendship, often depicted as a result of voluntary association and affinity-
based, is bounded to the social environments under which it is con-
structed (Allan 1998 , 2001 ). Instead of a linear and homogeneous
pathway, individualization of family and personal life should be addressed
by considering the constant negotiations between tradition and innova-
tion, which can only be achieved by being attentive to complexity, context,
and culture (Smart and Shipman 2004 ). Therefore, assuming a critical
position regarding the fatalistic views of the individualization hypothesis,
a more interpretative line of research frames family and personal life
under the umbrella of pluralization processes (Widmer 2016 ) and rela-
tional flexibility (Allan 2001 , 2008 ).
By pluralization, we mean the coexistence of multiple configurations
of ties in which individuals are embedded, which go far beyond the limits
of the household unit and the nuclear family model (Gouveia 2014 ;
Ramos et al. 2017 ; Widmer 2016 ). Rather than falling apart, personal
and family relationships are reinvented in diversified configurations
according to individuals’ life circumstances and historical embeddedness.
However, this diversity does not imply an inherent instability of personal
relationships. Instead, it echoes an increasing complexity of close ties,
particularly regarding the boundaries between family and non-family
ties, which are no longer easily labelled as ascribed or chosen but rather
dependent on commitment (Pahl and Spencer 2004 ; Wall and Gouveia
2014 ) (see Chap. 4 ). Indeed, the core Western principles of relatedness
linked to blood, alliance, co-residence, heteronormativity, and genera-
tional proximity (Godelier 2010 ) are negotiated in the everyday contexts
of individuals and are not equally valued in all societies. The issue of the
salience of kin and non-kin ties and the normative weight associated to
these bonds are at the heart of this discussion. However, co-residence
history and acquaintanceship length are also important mechanisms
A First Portrait of Personal Networks in a Comparative...