Why Does Romance Now Feel Like Work?
There is something deeply tragic about how love is spoken of today. Not love, really, desire. Lust dressed up in aesthetics, marketed as closeness. Infatuation that burns hot and fast, then vanishes with the first discomfort. We live in a time where the word “connection” is used so lightly, but experienced so rarely. Where the craving for bodies is... See more
Amira • Don’t match my freak, Match my yearning
Today, we turn to one person to provide what an entire village once did: a sense of grounding, meaning, and continuity. At the same time, we expect our committed relationships to be romantic as well as emotionally and sexually fulfilling. Is it any wonder that so many relationships crumble under the weight of it all?
Esther Perel • Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence
There is a good deal of implicit sentiment around relationships that troubles me, because it assumes a fundamentally defensive posture: You have to be happy first, you should date around a lot, you should reject quickly and on small pretenses, you shouldn’t take dating too seriously, etc. For some even attachment is a dirty word! 1 All of this is... See more