To Love and Be Loved is To Know and Be Known: A Gendered Balancing Act

Abstract

The meaning of this work is to explore the lived experiences of love in today's world. Why do we love and how do we prefer it? This is different for everyone, but given your childhood experiences, early bonds, and the health of your prior friendships and relationships, we can see that how people want to be loved is vast. So, what if we can help each other to understand our different methods of love and modes of care? What if we can learn to adapt to each other's preferences to create healthier relationships and provide our partner's/ friends/colleagues with meaningful care? What if we can unlearn maladaptive conditioned methods of showing love and take on healthy and fulfilling strategies instead?