But "romantic" doesn't mean, or at least doesn't have to mean (that's a
pretty dang big gift right there), sexual.
No, I stand by what I said, platonic love can not only be as strong as romantic love, it can BE romantic, you just don't desire them sexually. What wrong, indeed, with using words to mean what they mean...
As an aside, regarding what people think... Well, growing up I've always heard it only as explicitely romantic but not sexual. Now of course I can see it's also used like you described, for family members or people you're especially close to. The internet has been kind of culture shock for that, honestly.
Anyway, bottom line, your definition of "romantic" is incorrect, is all. You may advocate for it, but... It's just plain wrong.
The term "romantic attraction" has endured a few years for this very reason, by the way. Not one I use myself, but well, here it is, the term has been adopted because people acknowledged that romance and sex didn't necessarily have anything to do with each other. Which was clearly the case before the term became a thing, too.
The media and society are just pretty good at painting them together, simply because for the majority of people, romantic love and sexual love go hand in hand and they never feel like questioning the difference. Doesn't mean there isn't one.
last edited at Mar 26, 2019 4:18AM