Smiling and laughing are the natural expressions of human emotions in relationships with others. The cultural norms regarding their expressions, however, vary across cultures. People in some Western cultures, such as the European-American one, commonly use them. People in other cultures, such […]
As I explained in another article, many scholars and laypeople equate sex, sexual love, and erotic love. However, I believe researchers should distinguish between these concepts because they mean somewhat different things (Karandashev, 2022). Sexual love is intense feelings of sexual desire, […]
In modern culture, it seems easy to guess what “heart” and especially “red heart” mean. Guess what? Love! So, the corresponding symbols are common in modern virtual world. The emoji ❤️ adopted the same meaning social media messages. The red heart emoji is […]
What is love? What is sex? What is sexual love? And what is erotic love? For love studies to be truly scientific, there are a lot of scholarly questions that need to be answered. As I noted in another article, love and […]
Love and marriage in Brazil have a fascinating history that has been influenced by conquest and slavery during the early European settlements.The following European connections had a substantial impact on the development of Brazilian society, communities, and families. Being a former Portuguese […]
The Brazilian Portuguese word “amor,” which means “love,” refers to a wide range of beliefs, feelings, emotions, attitudes, and behaviors that characterize gender relationships, sexual encounters, and emotional connections. The challenges, however, arise when people distinguish between the “paixao” and the “amor” […]
Once, Western historians and literary scholars believed that “romantic love” was invented by West-European civilizations during the Medieval and Early Modern periods. Beginning with the “courtly love” (amour courtois) of the 12th and 13th centuries in France, Spain, and Germany, the presence […]
Romantic love emerged as a literary idea and an unrealistic and idealized type of love. Men and women who have romantic values of love tend to idealize a partner and a relationship. If both partners are romantically involved, we can say they […]
How can we know that love is truly romantic? How is romantic love different from other kinds of love? What are the main characteristics of romantic beliefs, expectations, and feelings? As I show elsewhere, the term “romantic” primarily means “idealistic” or “idealized.” […]
Over the years, many writers and scholars have widely used the words “romantic love” and “romantic relationship” with somewhat casual and fuzzy meanings. They frequently used these words instead of the words “passionate love” and “premarital relationship”. The romantic experience often engages […]