Discourses on Non-conforming Marriages: Love in Taiwan

In contemporary Taiwan, arranged marriage seems a remote legend. However, the mainstream ideology of romantic love and marriage is a recent phenomenon that started only half a century ago. The debate on love and marriage that took place a hundred years ago has been reopened in current Taiwanese society on transnational marriage and same-sex marriage debates, which are regarded as non-conforming marriages in a specific historical period. We argue that the hegemonic ideology of romantic love has produced a powerful exclusionary effect on cross-border marriages based on ethnic and class discrimination, but also an inclusive effect on same-sex marriage in present Taiwan society, which underscores the power of the discourse of love in modern Taiwanese social life. The love discourse can be progressive in a specific historical conjuncture, but it can also be regressive by excluding other forms of intimacy.     

Have Japanese People Become Asexual? Love in Japan

This article examines changing romantic relationships in contemporary Japanese society. It specifically investigates whether Japanese people in their twenties and thirties have become asexual; that is, whether they tend to have few sexual experiences or interests. Data were collected through an internet survey; this article uses a subsample of 9,940 respondents. The dependent variables were the number of lovers respondents had during and after junior high school; the independent variable was the respondents’ age. Regression analyses found a clear trend toward asexual behavior among young men (in their twenties and thirties). However, young women are not as asexual as the previous generation. This asexualization of men may have contributed to Japan’s sharply declining marriage and birth rates. If so, other Asian societies may learn lessons from Japan’s experiences in the future.     

Sustaining Versus Losing Love: Factors Discriminating the Two

In this research, using a formulation of romantic love derived from previous research, we state a series of hypotheses regarding specific relational characteristics that are predicted to discriminate between those individuals who remain in love with their partners and those who, though once in love, have ceased to love them. Results obtained strongly support both the overall formulation of romantic love and the more specific predictions derived from it. We conclude by discussing some implications of these results, with an emphasis on clinical ones, as well as some strengths and limitations of the present research.     

Love,Marriage and the Division of Labor*

In this questionnaire study young engaged men and women were asked about the importance of love in marriage and the meaning of the concept “love.” Marital goals and criteria for mate choice were also explored. A highly consistent image of marriage as an institution in which to realize a comprehensive companionship with a partner of compatible temperament and life goals emerged. These findings have demonstrable implications for existing theoretical formulations concerning the dysfunctional aspects of the love marriage in contemporary American society in which it is contended that “romantic idealization” during courtship leads to a high incidence of dissatisfaction and disruption. Findings from numerous studies are assimilated to present an alternative explanation for marital conflict in the context of the modern division of labor in which the spheres of work and the family are poorly integrated, particularly in view of sharp role segregation by sex.     

The Roles of Love and Happiness in Divorce Decision Making

Little is known about divorce decision making, the process of deciding whether to divorce when a marriage is distressed. The focus of this qualitative study was to explore the roles of love and happiness—two Western ideals that govern contemporary marital processes—in divorce decision making. Married participants (N = 30) with recent thoughts about divorce were interviewed about their conceptions of love and happiness in their decision-making processes. The resulting categories for love included: (a) importance of love, (b) change over time, and (c) marital love. The categories for happiness included: (a) fluidity of happiness and (b) balancing happiness. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

Role of Friendship,Trust, and Love in Strong Latino Marriages

ABSTRACT

This qualitative study focuses on the role that friendship, trust, and love play in the marriages of 25 Latino couples (50 individuals) who, through a semistructured interview, reported having strong marriages. Latino couples were interviewed using questions developed within the context of Latino culture. A model of how friendship, trust, and love contribute to strong marriages is proposed. Suggestions of how these findings can be used in marriage education are provided.     

Love Without Borders?

Since 2000, Denmark has imposed some of the strictest immigration laws in Europe. Consequently, family reunification has become increasingly difficult for immigrants as well as for Danish citizens. In the fall of 2010, the Danish family reunification laws became subject to criticism and protest by a citizens' initiative called ‘Love without Borders’ (LWB). The article investigates how LWB managed to generate political momentum around love: an affect which seems to promise inclusion, liberation and togetherness for those directly affected by the laws as well as those attempting to change the laws. Yet the idealized version of love promoted by LWB happened to take the form of romantic intimacy predominantly consisting of straight, young and white-brown couples oriented towards reproduction. Our main argument is that despite its good intentions of supporting migration the activist campaign ‘Love without Borders’ ends up supporting whiteness as the body through which love must flow. As an indicator of the racialized discourses informing LWB's activism the article introduces the concept of white transraciality. Thus, to LWB love seems to promise affective ties to the nation, to the future and to the political system in ways that sustain white hegemony. Building mainly on Sara Ahmed's and Laurent Berlant's reflections on love as cultural politics the article analyzes posters, viral videos and newspaper debates in its discussion of the promises and pitfalls of love as an affective political tool.     

大都市单身青年“婚恋焦虑”现象调查及成因分析

当代青年出生和成长于社会改革发展时代,社会物质的极大丰富对青年一代的精神生活产生了极大冲击,种种压力和诱惑导致很多年轻人的价值观产生变化,从而衍生出多元化的婚恋观,单身青年在适婚青年中的比例日益上升。在北京、上海等现代化大都市,单身青年普遍存在着"婚恋焦虑"现象,并且呈现出低龄化趋势。总的来看,"婚恋焦虑"现象的出现背后存在着人口结构、经济条件、社会观念、交际方式、家庭压力等多重因素影响。在新的时代背景下,青年人要学会辨别是非,以一颗真诚的心来面对婚恋问题。     

THINKING ABOUT ROMANTIC/EROTIC LOVE

The implications for therapy of the salient characteristics of romantic/erotic love are discussed.
1. We do not have control over our feelings of romatic/erotic love.
2. These feelings occur relatively infrequently during most people's lives.
3. Being with a partner whom one loves is valued and regarded as a good; it sometimes conflicts with other values and goods. There are no clear criteria for resolving this conflict.
4. Love is regarded as one esential basis for marriage.
5. In addition to romantic/erotic love, other qualities and capacities are improtant in sustaining a long-term relationship such as a marriage.     

90后大学生婚恋观存在的问题及应对性教育

90后大学生婚恋观总体上是积极健康的,但存在一些问题。这主要是由于受不良社会风气、道德观念及西方消极文化的误导所致。应从加强大学生价值观教育、婚恋道德教育和强化大学校园文化的隐性教育功能三个方面引导和帮助9 0后大学生树立正确的婚恋观。     

Effects of Love Styles on Marital Satisfaction in Heterosexual Couples: A Dyadic Approach

The main objective of this study was to test Actor-Partner Interdependence Models (APIM) describing the relationship between wives' and husbands' love styles and marital satisfaction within heterosexual couples (n=146 couples). Love styles (i.e., Eros, Ludus, Storge, Mania, Pragma, Agape) were set out in Lee's theory of love, which defines love as an attitude, meaning a predisposition to think, feel, and behave toward one's partner. Six APIMs representing each love style were tested using a path analysis procedure. Length of marriage and wives' and husbands' depressive moods were entered into the models as control variables. The results revealed that among the love styles, only Eros contributed to marital satisfaction for both men and women. However, our results showed that wives' Eros style had a positive impact on husbands' marital satisfaction, whereas husbands' Eros style did not influence wives' marital satisfaction.     

Does Movie Viewing Cultivate Young People's Unrealistic Expectations About Love and Marriage?

The current study examines the association between consumption of media messages by way of movie viewing and genre preference and endorsement of ideals and expectations concerning romantic relationships. A survey of young adults found that viewing preference for both romantic comedies and dramas was significantly and positively correlated with idealized notions of faith that love conquers all, greater expectations for intimacy, and endorsement of the eros love style. However, participants who frequently watched romantic movies did not endorse beliefs in sexual perfection, mindreading, or disagreement disallowance. Results suggest that more mythic romantic ideals may tend to supersede other relational demands.     

Intergenerational Mobility in East Asian Countries: A Comparative Study of Japan, Korea and China

Abstract:  There have been fewer cross-national comparative works on social mobility in East Asian countries than in Western countries. The present study aims to explore the similarities and differences of intergenerational social mobility in three East Asian countries and to examine whether the Featherman–Jones–Hauser (FJH) hypothesis would fit well into the mobility tables for Japan, Korea, and China. Log-linear and log-multiplicative models are applied to the mobility tables of respondents' occupations according to the father's occupation in the three countries. The analysis of relative rates of mobility did not completely support the FJH hypothesis in a strict sense, even though it reasonably accounts for the total association of origin and destination in the three countries. My analysis demonstrates that a level of social fluidity has been higher in Korea and China than in Japan. Focusing on how relative mobility patterns differ between the three countries, intergenerational mobility in Korea is characterized by lower rates of class inheritance compared to Japan, while there seems to be a similarity between the patterns of social fluidity in Japan and Korea, even though they are to a certain extent deviant from Erikson and Goldthorpe's core model. In contrast to Korea, class inheritance rates in China are almost as large as in Japan. However, the mobility pattern between classes appears to differ substantially between the post-socialist and two capitalist countries. In particular, both downward and upward mobility between the white collar bloc and the unskilled manual position are more pervasive in China than in Japan and Korea. These results imply that sociologists interested in cross-national comparison of the social mobility between the East Asian countries should pay attention to both political institutions and the local labor market situatuion which can substantially affect social mobility.     

Sense and sensibility: cohabitation in ‘cohabitation land’

In many European countries, cohabitation has become a prevailing practice. Norway is one of the countries leading this trend; cohabitation before marriage is the norm and a majority of couples become parents before they (eventually) marry. This article explores the meaning of cohabitation for Norwegian couples today through a qualitative analysis of interviews with 17 urban, heterosexual couples. As the trend towards increased cohabitation has emerged so strongly in Norway, such analysis may provide important insights into the possible implications of more widespread cohabitation in Europe. Why is cohabitation so attractive to young Norwegians today? Why do most couples postpone marriage until after they have children? The main finding is that cohabitation in this context is understood as acting according to important norms about intimate relationships. Cohabitation is a way of dealing with the complexity of attitudes towards love and relationships in late modernity. The option of living together outside marriage makes it possible for couples to be sensible (not committing themselves ‘too much’) as well as living together when they want to develop a relationship and are ‘in love’.     

Measuring Romantic Love: Psychometric Properties of the Infatuation and Attachment Scales

Romantic love is ubiquitous and has major influences on people's lives. Because romantic love consists of infatuation and attachment, researchers need to be able to differentiate between these constructs when examining the behavioral, affective, cognitive, and physiological correlates of this intriguing phenomenon. Existing love questionnaires appear less suitable for measuring the two-dimensional construct of romantic love. We present here the new 20-item Infatuation and Attachment Scales (IAS) questionnaire. In Study 1, exploratory factor analyses in a Dutch-speaking sample (n = 162) revealed a clear-cut two-factor structure, with 10 infatuation and 10 attachment items loading on separate components. This two-factor structure was confirmed in a new Dutch-speaking sample (n = 214, Study 2), and in an English-speaking sample (n = 183, Study 3). In all studies, it was additionally shown that both scales possessed good convergent and discriminant validity, as well as excellent internal consistency and test-retest reliability. We argue that the IAS is a widely applicable, psychometrically sound instrument that will be useful in future research exploring the effects of infatuation and attachment on behavior, emotion, cognition, peripheral physiology, and brain functioning.     

BRIDES FOR SALE: CROSS‐BORDER MARRIAGES AND FEMALE IMMIGRATION

Developed East Asian countries import a large number of women from abroad as brides every year, although such cross‐border marriages virtually did not exist 20 years ago. With a theoretical framework and empirical evidence, we argue that developed Asian countries' demand for foreign brides is the consequence of improvement in women's economic status and gender‐discriminative household arrangements that insufficiently incorporate women's improved status in marriage. We offer sets of empirical evidence in line with our argument, using various macro‐ and microlevel datasets. (JEL A12, J12, J61)     

IS LOVE BLIND? THE EFFECTS OF EXPERIENCE AND INFATUATION ON THE PERCEPTION OF LOVE

We hypothesized that participants in love and more experienced in romantic love (e.g., schematics) would perceive love more accurately than those who were not in love and less experienced. Judges viewed and rated a series of 25 thin-slice video clips of couples for whom their love for another was known via Sternbergs (Psychological Review, 93, 119–135) love scale. Individual differences in love judgment accuracy were large. Not surprisingly, participants who were in love at the time of the study and who reported having had a lengthy romantic relationship were more confident in their love judgment accuracy but, in fact, were less accurate. Apparently the love schemas people develop subjectively may not adequately represent the way in which the construct manifests among the population in general. Although love judgments may come easier to those in love, their perceptions of the love around them may be biased and inaccurate.     

People Will Know We Are in Love: Evidence of Differences Between Vocal Samples Directed Toward Lovers and Friends

Research has documented the tendency for individuals to change their voices as a function of different emotional and motivational states, but little attention has been devoted to examining voice modulation in romantic relationships. The present research was conducted to determine (1) the way in which individuals alter their voices when speaking to romantic partners versus friends and (2) if independent raters perceive these differences. Independent raters (N = 80) listened to vocal clips obtained from telephone calls directed toward close same-sex friends and romantic partners. For several clips, raters were able to identify conversational partner (romantic versus friend) with greater than chance accuracy, and this accuracy was positively correlated with vocal pitch and perceived romantic interest. In addition, raters who listened to content-filtered clips judged callers less favorably when talking to their romantic partners than their friends. Results are interpreted in light of the “longing” but vulnerable condition of intense romantic love, and integrated into affection exchange theory and communication accommodation theory.     

Love attitude and marital adjustment in the family life cycle

The present study examines husband and wife perceptions of attitude toward love and marital satisfaction through seven family life cycle stages. A significant relationship was determined between husbands’ and wives’ attitude toward love and marital satisfaction for couples in the early years of marriage with no children, and for couples with children in the preschool years. Marital satisfaction and attitude toward love seem to function more independently of one another in the other family life stages. Overall, husbands vary slightly more than wives on marital satisfaction and attitude toward love, but the pattern for both is similar in that each relationship is curvilinear.     

The curious absence of love stories in women's talk

Sociological debate has dealt with love in a number of different ways. For some, love offers a unique opportunity; it is a path to salvation (Jackson, 1993; Langford, 1999). Others, however, take a more sceptical approach to love in modern society: for Beck and Beck‐Gernsheim (1995) love represents the path to extreme individualization, for Illouz (1997) it is ultimately underpinned by consumerism, and perhaps most extreme, for Bauman (2003) love has been destroyed. Giddens offers a slightly different (and more hopeful) perspective and suggests that with growing choice and freedom, love has become ‘confluent’ and temporary subject to individuals' needs (Giddens, 1992). When adult women were asked about love and how they have experienced love in their own lives, however, few of these themes emerged. Instead many women found it difficult to talk about their feelings generally and love in particular. There was an absence of falling in love stories and rather, women explained that they ‘drifted’ into relationships, or they ‘just happened’. The discourses and languages that these women used to explain love and their relationships will be explored in this paper. Love was simultaneously loudly absent and quietly present.