Negotiating Transnational Intimacy: A Study of Ghanaian Couples

Abstract

Focusing on ‗transnationalism from below‘, which emphasises ways in which individuals reconstruct their family lives across borders, this study examines how Ghanaian couples in transnational arrangements negotiate their intimate relationship. Adopting purposive and snowball sampling techniques, a total of 30 in depth interviews were conducted with husbands and wives resident in Accra whose spouses were abroad. The study reveals that transnational couples rely on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to negotiate their relationships. However, the proliferation of ICTs serves as a double-edged sword in transnational arrangements. This is because though it leads to the compression of geographical space and time between couples, making them feel connected in real time constantly, it also gives rise to conflict situations in such arrangements. The paper indicates that ICTs only partly solve transnational couples‘ challenge of sustaining their intimate relationship, with emphasis on communication and sexual gratification