Myths of Romantic Love: Gender Perspectives in Adolescents Dating

Abstract

Love and sex appeal are social issues, not biological, instinctive and uncontrollable. This means that there is the possibility of transforming the attraction towards the people who abuse us, into a satisfactory and passionate relationship, both short or long term. In order to expand the knowledge on this topic, the aim of this study is to analyze adolescents dating through a gender perspective. The key research question is: how sentimental and sexual choices of adolescents are influenced by the myths of romantic love? A sample of high school students in Majorca (Spain) answered a questionnaire specially prepared for this purpose. Data indicate that myths of romantic love show significant gender difference: this means that girls accept romantic myths  more than boys do. Although social desirability presents some limits, these results suggest the importance of adding specific subjects to the students study program and the need of training teachers about them as well.

Keywords: dating, gender differences, gender violence, adolescents, romantic love.