Psychology 101.

ACLU ProCon.org- Case Summary
This freedom of association guaranteed by the First Amendment which creates a sphere of privacy, at least in marriage, makes the Connecticut statute ...
www.acluprocon.org/SupCtCases/145Griswold.html

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Note added at 22 mins (2005-08-05 02:29:53 GMT)
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In this context, another option might be \"(in the)...of intimacy\" :-)

I prefer "intimate sphere" (4,750 references for "intimate sphere," many in contrast to the "public sphere"), but actually there are 136,000 references to "public sphere" as well, and I'm not sure if they're interchangeable (see second reference below)

... are learned **not in the public but in the private or intimate sphere**. ...
www.partnershipway.org/html/ subpages/articles/saivarticle.htm

The **intimate sphere moved to the edge of the private sphere**, which became deprivatized. The realms of labor and the family separated. ...
www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/public/section5.rhtml

According to Structural Transformation, **this intimate sphere played a critical historical role in the generation of the public sphere** by supplying a ...
www.historycooperative.org/journals/wm/62.1/bloch.html

... of intimate sphere concerns that have been addressed?" she asked. "I'm hoping that we can really think about the intimate sphere as a political place." ...
www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/ 2004/04.29/13-afamgender.html

... together with the 'intimate sphere' of domestic and family concerns. ... to some extent with the erosion of the intimate sphere of private life, ...
www.franni.dircon.co.uk/papers/habermas.html

SJFE: Women and the Law in Europe: **The intimate sphere and women** ...WOMEN AND FAMILY LAW IN SCANDINAVIA. Anu Pylkkänen E-mail: [email protected]. Public and Private; Marriage; Other Sexual Relationships; Parenthood ...
www.helsinki.fi/science/xantippa/wle/wle41.html

Both terms are commonly used in textbooks and literary works.