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For me, love is at the heart of feminism; in this context I’m not just talking about a basic love for humanity and a desire for justice, but also about loving myself in the face of an often-unloving world, about loving the people in my life despite the pain and difficulty of oppression. Love in all its manifestations motivates us; it’s what gives us humanity, sentimentality, and compassion. Sometimes, because of this, we don’t like to define love; when you are newly “in love” you don’t ever want to believe that it might be ultimately tarnished by our other less-than-perfect feelings. After all, being realistic about love makes you a bitter cynic, right? And I certainly don’t want to burst anyone’s bubble, since love and its anticipation are awesome feelings. But I am here to talk about the ways in which love is socially constructed and affected by our internalized belief systems and external political systems. Love is more than just a chemical or emotional feeling; it is a social and cultural force.
