Arrange the steps of Giddens’s argument from external constraint to the pure relationship.

1. Marriage and sexuality are governed by property, kinship and religious obligation
2. Reliable contraception separates sexual life from reproduction
3. External anchors weaken and the bond must be justified by its own rewards
4. Partners negotiate the terms of the relationship continually rather than inheriting them
5. The relationship persists only while both parties find it satisfying

Laid out in order, the argument’s vulnerable point is the third step: it assumes that removing external anchors leaves negotiation between equals. Illouz’s reply targets exactly that transition, arguing that what fills the vacated space is a market with its own hierarchies, so that the last two steps describe an unequal contest rather than a democratic one.