What is Love?

[Flyaway4me]

Hello,

I thought this would bring up some interesting conversation! I recently taught a class where we analyzed love and came up with some questions I thought would be fun to answer. I hope with any of these questions I did not offend, for that was not my intention. Any input, opinions, questions, or discussion starters related to the topic can be made in the comment section.

Have fun,

Em

[theam]

About whether I feel as if my orientation effects the way I experience love.

I feel like ever since I became aware of the fact that I'm asexual I've been more logical and cautious about the idea of falling in love and being in love with a romantic partner.

I also know more of what I look for in a person.

Just in general, having a clearer idea of it. I understood why the times I had been in love before had been painful and didn't work out. I've also become more grateful for the love my friends give me.

And the obvious one: knowing that sex isn't necessary to express love is just such a relief after all the stress "pretending to be straight" put on me.

I don't know if that makes sense...

[Karret]

Have you experienced love?

I voted no, in the sense that I've never had that mushy-gushy, we're-gonna-get-married-and-live-happily-ever-after kind of stuff, though I do love my mother a lot, and I love my pets a lot and my friends, but nothing with a romantic/sexual subtext going on.

What is the purpose of love?

I think it's just an extension of the fact that humans are a social species. I don't think there's any inherent "purpose" to it.

Do you believe there are different types of love?

Most definitely. Familial, Romantic, Sexual, Platonic....

The love you have for your child or pet wouldn't be the same as the love you have for your friends which wouldn't be the same as the love you have for a significant other.... I don't know if the feelings towards siblings and parents would be similar to a child or whatever, but I think those are probably different.

Do you have a set definition of love?

An intense emotional connection, but how that is expressed is different, and life can complicate this in practice.

Do you feel as if your orientation effects the way you experience/do not experience love?

Yep. I've never wanted to have a bf or gf, just like.. a really close friend that I can hang out with and stuff. Like... Like the idea of a "heterosexual life partner" as I've heard it called before, except that's all I'd look for, and I wouldn't need anything else. I don't look for that mushy gushy crap, and it annoys me if anyone tries it.

Do you feel as if societies expectations of love effect the way you experience/do not experience love?

Mmmmmm somewhat, at least once when I was a kid. I was friends with this one kid, and then everyone was like OOOOooo you two are in loOoOOve or whatever, and I was like ew gross, no, and it kind of ruined our friendship and then he moved or whatever.

Nowadays, if the person I'm friends with isn't the one trying to be stupid like that, then I don't think that it would have an effect anymore.

Do you know how you know you are in love?

I would imagine they're on your mind all the time and you get butterflies thinking about them, I guess?

Someone I guess could hurt you, but you still really like being in their presence because when they're being awesome, it's really awesome and you would hate to give that up?? :Ua

[warrigan]

i'm aromantic, so i didn't answer with romantic love in mind (as it did not specify that it was only intended for romantic love). i experience platonic love, which is just as important to me as romantic love is to romantic people.
i've absolutely experienced love. i love my family, and i'm extremely close to them. i've had a number of close friends, all of whom i've loved. :) as for the purpose of love, i answered "no purpose" as well as "to find happiness," because i don't think that love as a general concept has a specific, all-encompassing "purpose"- it does not have some great inherent intent. however, in my life, i find that experiencing love gives me happiness and motivation. i love people and i feel happy when they are around; they provide some fulfillment in some aspect(s) of my life that i would not have otherwise.
my orientation absolutely affects the way i see love. before i realized i was aro, my intense feelings of platonic love confused me- feelings this intense were supposed to come with sex and romance, right? i even dated one of my best friends, and didn't understand why i could truthfully say i loved him, but not feel anything when we kissed or when he did something romantic. since realizing i'm aromantic, i'm so much more able to understand my feelings of love- they're super-strong platonic love. tying into one of the other questions- society had enforced the idea that strong love was always romantic love, and was always more important than other kinds of love (like, "it's acceptable to prioritize your romantic partner over your friends!"). once i realized that this was completely untrue for me, i understood myself so much better and felt so much happier. (for that question, i answered "unsure"- society doesn't exactly affect how i experience love, but understanding how society tells me i should experience love and how that is untrue for me has helped me understand myself and my feelings of love a lot better. :) )
i don't think i have a set definition for love, and i'm not sure how i know i'm in love. each of my relationships with other people manifests differently, and i love my friends in different ways and for different reasons. everyone brings something unique to my life, so of course i don't love everyone the same way. i think the closest i can come to describing love is as a deep understanding of and appreciation for that person. i love and admire people for the different ways they make my life more happy and complete.

[McKenzie]

What is the purpose of love?

I believe that love exists because evolution has found it useful for the survival of our species. As we became more intelligent, and our babies more helpless, that love becomes necessary to attract a potential mate and ensure that the male remained to care for the pregnant female and offspring. Love exists so that we are more caring and protective of the 'loved one', and willing to ignore our survival instincts to keep them safe from harm.

Do you believe there are different types of love?

Of course. I have come to view the different forms of love as something similar to the four Greek words of love: Agape (love for everyone/charity), Eros (romantic/sexual), Philia (affection/friendship), and Storge (family).

Do you feel as of your orientation effects the way you experience love?

I do in a way. I have never had any sort of sexual arousal and as such sometimes feel as if I'm missing out on something; deeper intimacy, more complex attraction to someone, an understanding of flirting, or something. I have no desire to partake in carnal activities but wonder if those who do, experience a more vivid love then I could possible experience.

Do you feel as if societies expectations of love effect the way you experience love?

Society certainly makes it harder to express love, which is strange with how obsessed with love everyone is. But its only of the romantic, or really sexual, kind. Children's books and shows preach how dating is the only important thing in your life. And once puberty hits, its all about sex. This fixation on sex has actually made me wary to date. My peers are still at the age where drinking and sex are all that matters, and most are convinced that if a female drinks then she wants sex.

I don't feel that I have ever been in love before but I do believe in true love and happy ever afters, and all that tosh.

I guess I'm a bit of romantic; I just adore the idea of having someone who will always put up with your silliness, a willing pillow, a dinner sharer, and to grow old and wrinkly with. The though makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

[The Wreyck]

Upon taking this survey, I assumed that you are referring to more intense love such as the type that leads to companionship and partners, not ordinary friendship love or familial love or generalized love for mankind. On that basis, I believe in love, and I have experienced it. And so I will answer the questions.

Have You Experienced Love?

Obviously my answer is yes. I have experienced love. I can't say which type of love I have experienced, but I have experienced some form of companionship love, and I suspect more than one type as well. My first companionship love was at the age of 15 almost sixteen approximately. It was immature and confused because of issues involving gender dysphoria and orientation confusion. Little came of it, and it was not given the opportunity to flourish. That was likely romantic of some sort. That love was never resolved, and so for the next few years I experienced a multitude of platonic partnership loves that I obsessed over in a means to distract and comfort myself from the world. I gave up on romantic love until September of 2014. At that point I met someone and was strongly under the impression that I was not capable of romantic love and automatically assumed this was simply an intense platonic love. My best friend quickly knocked me upside the head and brought me to my senses. At this point I started venturing into the world of romance and understanding a love that is trusting and true partnership. This was when I finally understood that my first love in high school had indeed been romance of some sort in my heart, and through this understanding I was able to resolve it. And since the realization of this romantic love, I've become open to romantic love in a multitude of ways.

What Is the Purpose of Love?

The purpose of love is a difficult question to answer. Everyone has their own ideas. For me personally love holds the same purpose as anything worthwhile in my life: to feel alive, truly feel life. It is something deep and raw and taps into our inner most beings. Love comes from our cores where life is stored and is a means of release and experience. I'm not searching for happiness in life, and I'm not searching for a life long companion (or even any form of steady companion). I'm searching for anything and everything that will open a gateway to the experience of life, and love is one thing that seems to do that. To be honest, though, I have other ways that I would prefer. I do not care for the most intense of companionship love and would rather it not exist in my own personal life.

Different Types of Love?

I believe that there are many different types of love, but for now I will stick to the companionship types. I see normal best friendships as holding a type of companionship love. I view queerplatonic friendships as something a step above normal best friendships. It can be very minor or it can range to as intense as a primary permanent life partner. On an equal field there is romantic companionship. I don't view this love as more or deeper than the platonic companionship loves, simply different. There is the type that is fleeting and focused in the moment and nothing more. There is the type that demands dedication and commitment. Then there comes the one that demands long term commitment, and even after that there is the romantic love that is a permanent, life-partner commitment. That is from a monogamous viewpoint, though. From a poly view there can then be more than one type of life-partner permanent romantic love. You have your "primary partner" and then also your other partners that have just as much loyalty and permanence, and maybe even just as intense, but they still lack the quality that makes them your "primary" partner. Someone else holds that title. Honestly, there are so many more, but to even begin to describe them would take hundreds of words.

Definition of Love?

My definition of love is very simple and straightforward in a way that can encompass all the variations. To love someone is to care more about their wellbeing than your own, to put them above yourself.

Orientation Affecting How I Experience Love?

Yes, I believe that it does by quite a bit. My asexual orientation makes me quite a bit more open to any type of person physically and being able to bond with them. I think it also lends to me focusing more on the general emotional needs without the physical aspects, which might put more pressure on my partners who are more often very physical and express a lot that way. My polyamory orientation makes it so that I am not constricted to one type of love at a time, and I can help them all flourish at ones (which can get complicated but is worth it). The fact that for a long time I was operating as an aromantic for a long time stopped me from understanding and experiencing love in all of its colors for even as I experienced romantic companionship love I could not even see or feel it as I was supposed to be feeling it. I'm physically attracted to females (sensually) but if probably Omni-romantic. This does a lot for my experiences in love. How I experience love for women is a lot different than how I experience love for men. I almost feel as if my love when geared towards a man is more pure, not swayed by the physical appearance and possibilities. The interactions are certainly so much more different. I'm not sure which I prefer. I also feel love for women more often than for men, but I seem to value it when geared towards men more strongly and deeply than when geared towards women.

Society's Expectations Affecting How I Experience Love?

Most definitely, even more so than my orientation probably. It pushed me away from homosexuality for one, and that fucked with my head severely in trying to figure love out. Then time and again it pushed me into romantic relationships that I did not want and ruined some amazing platonic loves and friendships that I had. Society's emphasis on monogamy confused me greatly, wondering about and confusing romantic love with platonic love when I felt it for multiple people, and becoming confused when I experienced jealousy over platonic relationships, creating doubt in me to wonder if they were romantic and that was why I felt jealous. Society puts so much emphasis on permanent commitment that never actually stays permanent that for most of my life it made me hate promises of commitment and any attempt at it whatsoever, always believing it to be a lie. I've only begun to properly break free of society's influence on my love experiences this last year.

How Do I Know I Am in Love?

I do not know how I know that I am in love. I just know. There are feelings of longing, and there is possessiveness, but not in a way that says I can't share (I'm poly). I think that if I was monogamous it would be easier to explain how to know when I am in love. But being poly, a lot of the indicators that society points out don't work for me. I somehow just feel it inside of me, that I want this person as a companion and a partner.

[Xavy]

Baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me, no more :)

I couldn't resist it, before someone else does it.

Seriously though, I think love can mean different things to different people.

[Skycaptain]

I have never experienced love, although I can see others who do. I don't believe that this is due to asexuality, but I do believe that it this non-feeling of emotion is related to ask or Asperger's. I also fail to empathise very well, and I'm often completely unaware of other people's feelings. This may be related to aromanticism as well.

[FiddleKid]

I don't experience romantic love ever but I love my family in my own way. But not any of that romantic lovey dovey stuff no way.

[Emmie D-S]

I think that the types of love vary. I mean, I love my mom, but I don't love her in the same way I love my best friend; both of those kinds of love are also different from the way I love music, or summer, or the boy I went to the movies with. I think that you can love people, things, and activities, but your reasoning is what makes the love different.

One one hand, I love my mom, because she provides for me, she brought me into being, and I enjoy spending time with her. On the other hand, I love the boy i went to the movies with because we talk about any and everything, he gives me butterflies, and he can make me smile like no one else. The reason I love them is different, but I still love both of them nonetheless.

I hope this makes sense?

[drjohnhwatson]

Have you experienced love?

I'm answering most or all of these questions in terms of romantic love rather than familial or friendship or platonic love. In those regards, no I have not.

What is the purpose of love?

I do not know what the purpose of love is. There might not even be a purpose. It's like happiness or anger or sadness. Maybe it just exists without purpose or without needing to have a purpose.

Do you believe there are different types of love?

Yeah, haha. I just said so above. There's about a million different types of love. The love you have for pets and such. The love for families (which I mean can be as strong as a pet love or vice-versa, haha). The love for friends. The love between a partner and a partner...there are more I'm certain I'm forgetting or overlooking.

Do you have a set definition of love?

I do not. Love is hard to explain.

Do you feel as if your orientation effects the way you experience/do not experience love?

I would assume so. I'm panromantic but waaay more skewed toward fellas, although I have had a crush on two girls before. If I was heteroromantic or homoromantic or aromantic, I would love differently in a romantic fashion.

Do you feel as if societies expectations of love effect the way you experience/do not experience love?

Yeah. For the longest time I didn't want to admit that I had had crushes on two girls in the past/recently because of the way people respond to that sort of thing. I still am a little wary of it, although it wasn't full-blown love. Just crushes.

Do you know how you know you are in love?

I was like "I don't know" but then I thought of this webcomic (TJ & Amal) where Amal said something to the effect that if you're not sure if you've been in love or not, you haven't. I suppose that you would know. Just the emotion and the feeling that you get when you see them, when you talk to them, if you're ever faced with the possibility of not seeing them or speaking to them again...I can't explain it well but I think you guys must understand. It's just...you know. You feel it.

:D.

[Weltraum]

Baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me, no more :)

I couldn't resist it, before someone else does it.

Seriously though, I think love can mean different things to different people.

That song was my first reaction to this title and was disappointed when this wasn't an option...

I'm repulsed aromantic and repulsed asexual. If anyone said they had romantic feelings for me, I would panic, feel physically nauseous, feel paranoid and targeted, then break contact with that person. It wouldn't have been their fault, but I just wouldn't feel safe around them anymore unless they saw me just as a friend, acquaintance or stranger.

Other people can do what they want. If people fall in love and are happy, fine. As long as it doesn't affect me...

[The Wreyck]

Do you know how you know you are in love?

I was like "I don't know" but then I thought of this webcomic (TJ & Amal) where Amal said something to the effect that if you're not sure if you've been in love or not, you haven't. I suppose that you would know. Just the emotion and the feeling that you get when you see them, when you talk to them, if you're ever faced with the possibility of not seeing them or speaking to them again...I can't explain it well but I think you guys must understand. It's just...you know. You feel it.

:D.

I was struggling with how to answer this question, and I think maybe this answer works. Though then I do think at times people are in such denial that they just don't realize that they are in love even though they are.

[DexM]

What is love? Love is difficult to explain. It does exist, and it exists differently for everyone who experiences it. It's a really good feeling, but it hurts like hell. I feel that societies definition of love, is preposterous, unobtainable and as fictional as big foot, nessie and a decent government.

So, to paraphrase the great and wise Master Yoda, love is a powerful ally. Love creates, makes us grow. It's energy surrounds and binds us. You must feel the love around you; between you, me, the rock, everywhere. Just don't go loving rocks!

O.k., so he didn't say that last part but I thought it might be worth saying.

[brightberry]

Baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me, no more :)

I couldn't resist it, before someone else does it.

Seriously though, I think love can mean different things to different people.

That is literally the first thing I thought when I saw this

[AceEnergy6]

1. Do you believe in love?

Yes, I do.

2. Have you experienced love?

Yes, but only once. It was quite unexpected since I had disliked the person I fell in love with (for no good reason at all) and I knew my feelings when I felt it. Kind of like how people who experience sexual attraction say they "knew it once they felt it".

Falling in love really helped me out on figuring my orientation. It also made me realize all the other people I thought I "loved" was really aesthetic attractions and "likes".

3. How old were you when you experienced love for the first time?

About 12.

4. What is the purpose of love?

I see it as both Evolutionary/Scientific purposes and to find a companion.

And probably, something else that can be debated on.

5. Do you believe there are different types of love?

Yes.

Familial love, platonic love and romantic love are a few examples. But, love is usually used in a romantic way.

6. Do you have a set definition of love?

Yes.

Love: A deep emotional connnection to an object, being or thing.

7. Do you feel as if your orientation effects the way you experience/do not experience love?

Definitely. I believe I don't experience romantic attractions very often because of my lack of interest in others.

I've tried to see if I can fall in love other people I cared for in an aesthetic or sensual way. Got nothing.

8. Do you feel as if societies expectations of love effect the way you experience/do not experience love?

Somewhat.

9. Do you know how you know you are in love?

Yes.

It's exactly how many others explain love. That deep emotional and mental infatuation and that warmth. Wanting to spend time with that someone through good and bad. Never felt butterflies in my stomach but I felt it in my chest. Thinking about it almost makes me feel like crying because of all those emotions.

[Squirrel Combat]

Love feels good.

[Xavy]

Better question ....... Why is love ?

[bittersweet988]

Or even better one...why do we even fall in love if loving someone is just so painful?

[ghostie]

I saw the title of this forum and I just kinda went-

BABY DON'T HURT ME

DON'T HURT ME

NO MORE

[Lady Valacri]

Have you experienced love?

Yes, I have. I've experienced love many, many times in my life.

What is the purpose of love?

What is the purpose of anything? What's the purpose of liking a specific fruit or color? I think it's just another one of those things that make us happy or we can enjoy. It's apart of the human experience (Not just romantic love, but platonic love, familial love, or love for a certain food/animal/activity/ ect).

Do you believe there are different types of love?

Of course. There's romantic love that someone would feel for a romantic partner. There's also platonic love for friends and whatnot. Familial love is for family. I'm sure there are others.

Do you have a set definition of love?

I think the definition for love is different for everyone. Sure, there might be a dictionary definition but everyone experiences love in different ways. The simplest way to explain my definition is "Everyday is Valentine's day". That means that every day I am with said person, I should be sick with love and spoil them to the best of my ability.

Do you feel as if your orientation effects the way you experience/do not experience love?

Yes and no. I voted no because I still love my girlfriend like I did before I discovered my asexuality. We still have sex and what not. Sure, there was a rough patch, but as of right now, our love is still the same as it was, only stronger.

Do you feel as if societies expectations of love effect the way you experience/do not experience love?

I think so. Society depicts love as being shallow. You can win your partner over with sex and expensive gifts. In my eyes, that's not love. If it works for someone else, fine, they can do what they want. For me, love is deeper and more passionate than that. Every gift I give her is something unique. I put thought behind everything I do for her. I wouldn't want to be with someone who only cared about expensive gifts. I love her because she loves the same way I do.

Do you know how you know you are in love?

Every thing I do, I do for her. I am completely and utterly love sick. I can't function without her. You can call me a fool. You can tell me how much you would hate that. You can tell me that my life sounds terrible. I won't care. I care about her and nothing else. I would happily give my life for her if she asked for it. I know that I am in love because every part of my life is that much sweeter with her around.

[lilackat]

Have you experienced love?

Yes - I love my family very dearly (parents, sister, cousins/aunts/uncles/etc., church community).

How old were you when you experienced love for the first time?

A baby? I've felt very loved/loving for my entire life.

Do you believe that there are different types of love?

Yes. The way I love my family is different than the way I would love a romantic partner, and is also different than the way I try to have an attitude of love (agape) towards everyone I encounter.

It really sucks that English only has one word for such a vast and complicated concept. There are as many different ways to love and feel love as there are people in the world, and the vocabulary should be at least more complex than just one word. There are ways of stringing words together to form subsets - romantic love, family love, love for friends, love for humanity - but they end up sounding either very clinical or very academic, and very cold either way. This is frustrating!

There are several Ancient Greek terms for love - more than the four that get floated around the most. Also (a pet peeve) eros does not just mean romantic/sexual love! It means the madness (craziness) of being newly in love and the butterflies and bubbly feelings. The one I want in a life partner is pragma, which is the steady, longstanding love (traditionally used to describe a couple married for years and years).

[Elluna Hellen]

Do you believe in love?

I guess I do. There are too many stories of people being together their whole lives not to.

Have you experienced love?

Not romantic love, but other love yes.

How old were you when you experienced love for the first time?

I have not fallen in love.

What is the purpose of love?

I voted both 'no purpose' and 'other' basically because i don't really know why it *should* have a purpose. What is the purpose of any emotion?

Do you believe there are different types of love?

Yes. Simply because it would be weird to consider the type of love you have for a pet to be the same kind of love as romantic love, I suppose.

Do you have a set definition of love?

Nope.

Do you feel as if your orientation effects the way you experience/do not experience love?

As an aromantic, ABSOLUTELY :P

Do you feel as if societies expectations of love effect the way you experience/do not experience?

Um, no?

Do you know how you know you are in love?

I don't do falling in love xD.

Do you have any other questions about love?

Nah.

I saw the title of this forum and I just kinda went-

BABY DON'T HURT ME

DON'T HURT ME

NO MORE

ME TOO! And I was hoping it would be an option somewhere and I am really, REALLY DISAPPOINTED that it's not! xD

[Amy Ghost]

I do believe in love, real love and soul mates. And yea, I did experience love. Once so far and hoped it to be definitive, but was disappointed.

How my orientation affects it? No idea, I'm not even sure now what romantic orientaion I have. Started questioning again.

If there are more than one type of love? Sure there are. There is the friendship love and platonic love, brother/sister love, and others. It just depends how people want to see it.

Nope, don't have any definition to love. Damn, I don't even know now what romance is.

I think many people have a very narrow view of love and try to force it on other people. And when a different kind comes up they dismiss it. People should broaden their views in many ways.

[XYZ96]

I've never fallen in love, or loved anyone, my parents have had to come to terms with me declaring I don't love them, I just like them.... I know that sounds cruel... and I might actually love them, but not realise it, as I dislike the word love if used on living things... like humans...

I will sometimes say I love non living things like chocolate though...

So to most things I said no or unsure...

Do I believe in love? Idk...

Have you expienced love? I don't think so...

What's its purpose? Evolutionary... So parents don't abandon there newborns and so tribes will stay together... I'd assume... (not an expert/scientist)

Are there diffent types of love? Eh... Hmm...

The rest I answered unsure...

I'm not very lovey-dovey, I know :P

[Grumpy Alien]

I have zero experience with love so I'm not qualified to answer definitively.

[allrightalready]

the presumption in all answers is that the OP is asking about love as in relationships

believe in it? of course not believing in it is like not believing in gravity, many if not most people are not really capable of it but that does not mean it does not exist

have i experienced it? yes in one relationship

age? i was 28 she was 26

purpose? see definition below

different types? absolutely

one loves ice cream or chocolate

one loves a puppy

one loves their siblings or mother

one loves their partner etc

all are obviously different not even in just degree but what is meant by it

set definition? to love someone is to DECIDE (not feel) that you are going to make their safety and happiness an integral part of your life.

my orientation affects the experience? only insofar as it means there is a limit as to who will be the target of it

social expectation affects my experience? absolutely, hetero couples can express in all sorts of ways all the way to practically having sex in front of me but i might get killed just for holding her hand in public

how do i know? because i will have decided it, the real trouble is somehow finding it reciprocated since most people only know how to manipulate/control others for their own benefit as that is how society trains them

questions? nope i know what i know even if no one else does

[Mudlark]

'What is love, baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me, no more' (sorry, couldn't help myself :P )

I do believe in love. Alright, so I don't really know what 'believing' actually entails, but I know it exists, anyhow.

Have I experienced love? I've experienced love from family and friends, and I'm pretty sure I've experienced romantic love--at least, I have felt feelings that I suppose would be described as romantic--but the whole head-over-heels 'true love' thing that slushy pop songs bang on about...I'm not sure if I've felt that yet. I think I am capable of that kind of love--I think I sort of know what kind of person I could feel that love for--I just haven't met that person yet.

How old was I when I fell in love...well as mentioned above, I don't think I have really 'fallen' in love yet, but I'm pretty sure I first started getting an inkling of possible romantic feelings at the age of about 13 or 14, I think.

What is the purpose of love? Well as humans are social creatures that typically live among other humans, I'd say that love is an evolutionary thing that helps us stick together and empathize with one another. I believe other animals experience love too for the same reasons, only maybe with some animals the line between 'love' and 'instinct' can be a bit more blurred. I think it does bring a lot of happiness too, though perhaps not always, especially if the love is unrequited.

Do I believe there are different types of love? Very much so; for me, there is the romantic kind of love, the friendship love, the love I have for my family, the love I have for pets and other animals, even the love I have for random things that I am passionate about...I think they're all separate things, and sometimes they merge into each other too.

Do I have a set definition of love? I don't know really, as mentioned before, what I define as 'love' varies depending on what I feel it for...I'd say it is a very multi-faceted feeling, but personally I define it as being the next stage up from 'like'--so sort of really, really, really liking something.

Do I feel as if my orientation affects the way I experience love? Maybe...at least, when it comes to more intimate relationships, I think my idea of a good relationship differs from my peers quite a lot; not just in the way I don't view things sexually, but in the individual traits that I am drawn to in a person, whether it's aesthetic, personality-based or anything else--without wanting to sound pious, the kind of person whom I picture as being an 'ideal' partner is not generally the person that mainstream society portrays.

Do I feel as if society's expectations of love affect the way I feel love? I wouldn't really say it affects the way I feel love, I just feel like my way is different.

Do I know how I know I am in love? I voted 'yes' for some reason, which is a bit daft because actually I'm not sure if I do know, to be honest...again, I see love as being equivalent to really, really, really liking (this is starting to sound like a Carly Rae Jepsen song...), but even then I'm often not completely sure how much I feel...I'm not sure, really.

Do I have any other questions about love? This has probably been asked loads of times, but I'd like to know what the proper definition of a crush is. I think the feelings I have are probably only squishes, but I'd be interested to know for sure all the same. And I sort of wish I knew what a mutual, real-life romantic love feels like, because that would answer a lot more questions I have about myself. But unfortunately I think maybe only I can find out the answers to that kind of thing, in time. Life is kind of annoying that way.

[verily-forsooth-egads]

Dunno. Don't care. Other people can fall in love if they want to, and it's great that they're happy. Maybe I'll fall in love someday. Maybe I won't. I don't mind either way.

[Kuebiko]

I'm aromantic and i felt really uncomfortable reading the first few questions, then i reasoned that 'love' doesn't merely refer to romantic love and things got a bit better after that.

i answered under 12 for 'how old were you when you experienced love for the first time' because i took 'love' to to be parental love and i know that my parents have loved me since i was born.

I think there are many different kinds of love. okay. not many, per se.

i wholly agree with the greek idea of the four kinds of love:

eros - love between couples, romantic love

philos - love between friends, fondness

agape - used to refer to someone who was generously favoured by a god. idk how to explain. probably love between a god and the followers

stergo - love between parents and children

love in this questionnaire is really vague and perhaps if that was cleared up it would be better