WE have our definition when it comes to love, it’s not just for Valentine’s Day, since it is still the month of February. Love can be varied to other spectrums. It could be a strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties, maternal love for her child, or attraction based on sexual desire and affection felt by couples or we can use the science of love when our brains begin to fire and release dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin.
What if we put “love” in another perspective, from a sociological point of view? How can we express love through a sociological perspective?
To say that love is sociological may sound weird even partially heretical. Most of us think of love as something that we feel naturally. It’s a spiritual and even cosmic, union that brings ahead an exhibition of outcomes such as having butterflies in our stomachs or maybe just a feeling of affection and happiness.
When we are feeling love, we have this experience of a spectrum of physical sensations and emotions. Although some of us want to accept the popular idea that “love is blind”, in reality, love is frequently quite prejudiced.
Most people don’t find themselves deeply or madly in love with just anyone else; instead, most of us end up in love with a person who looks, thinks, and acts like us. We tend to end up in love with people who share our race, ethnicity, religion, age, and social class. Sociologists referred to this as homophily. According to Britannica, Homophily means “love of sameness,” which is a sociological theory that similar individuals will move toward each other and act similarly.
As societies evolve to more distinct and people form bonds with a greater variety of people—what’s known as the propinquity effect or contact theory—people’s views of who they find attractive and appealing have been indicated to change.
It appears difficult to withhold the fact that the way we come to express love is a product of our socialization. Nearly everything we understand about how to love comes from a variation of agents of socialization such as family, friends, the media, and even religious doctrines.
And like all social aspects, the ways through which we illustrate love are variable based on the social context in which we find ourselves. If ever you doubt the social foundations of how we understand love, discuss with your grandparents, relatives, or friends from other cultures, or read some early modern literature, and you will promptly discover that there are many different norms, practices, and behaviors that people have developed to demonstrate love.
And I believe that love is sociological in the sense that allows us to gain a greater understanding of the sophisticated and simple nature of humans and societies.
Love is everywhere and has a significant impact on our culture, society, and lives, and yet we know relatively little about what it means.
Disclaimer
Mindanao Gold Star Daily holds the copyrights of all articles and photos in perpetuity. Any unauthorized reproduction in any platform, electronic and hardcopy, shall be liable for copyright infringement under the Intellectual Property Rights Law of the Philippines.
