Contestations of the meanings of love and gender in a university students' discussion

abstract

Love is a fluid and complex concept that is difficult to define comprehensively. Its expressions, however, show that love is not only gendered but also influenced by one's social and economic positioning. Family upbringing, friends, race, culture and religion shape and constrain experiences of love. Third year students in a women's and gender studies class carried out a qualitative feminist study to explore how university students understood rights and responsibilities in romantic love. In a class of 127 students, each student conducted two semi-structured interviews with two university students of either sex. The findings were discussed in class through a panel discussion steered by five students. The students' findings revealed that contextualised relational power issues, economic factors and the role of sex had importance in the way romantic relationships were understood. This Briefing presents the discussion in which multiple issues are raised on the dynamics of love among some university students, as they strive to find the meaning of romantic love.

Keywords:

• Love
• gender
• culture
• sex
• university students

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Prof Tamara Shefer, Prof Kopano Ratele and Associate Prof Lindsay Clowes for their role in conceptualising the broad project from which this briefing draws. The Women and Gender Studies class of 2012 is also applauded for their work.