50 Great Articles and Essays about Love and Relationships
Essays and short articles about love and life, romance, relationships, dating and friendshipLove and Life
Masters of Love by Emily Esfahani Smith
Science says lasting relationships come down to — you guessed it —kindness and generosityLike an Iron Bell by Cheryl Strayed
I guess my question to you is, when is it right to take that big step and say I love you? And what is this “love” thing all about?This is Emo by Chuck Klosterman
No woman will ever satisfy me. I know that now, and I would never try to deny it. But this is actually okay, because I will never satisfy a woman, eitheHow to Pick Your Life Partner by Tim Urban
To a frustrated single person, life can often feel like this... (part 2 is here)My Superpower Is Being Alone Forever by Joe Berkowitz and Joanna Neborsky
Sometimes when a radiant single lady comes floating along the sidewalk like a dream, I think about stopping her. But I never would...Liking Is for Cowards by Jonathan Franzen
Do I need to point out that - absent some wild, anthropomorphizing projection in which my BlackBerry felt sad about the waning of my love for it - our relationship was entirely one-sided? Let me point it out anyway30 more essays about life
Dating
Tinder and the Dawn of the "Dating Apocalypse" by Nancy Jo Sales
As romance gets swiped from the screen, some twentysomethings aren't liking what they seeThe Trouble With Wanting Men by Jean Garnett
Women are so fed up with dating men. So what do we do with our desire?A Mini Tinder Time Capsule by Rachel Connolly
A decade of ghosting, emojis, and urban legendsTinder Hearted by Allison P. Davis
How did a dating app become my longest running relationship?Dating Online by Emily Witt
This was not a way to live. A man would go to a bar alone, I told myself. So I went to a bar aloneA Million First Dates by Dan Slater
How online romance is threatening monogamyMormons, Orthodox Jews and the Dating Crisis by Jon Birger
Believe it or not, the rise in Mormon breast implants and $100,000 Jewish dowries can explain why you're alone on Friday night(!!)Dating by Numbers by Kevin Poulsen
How a math genius hacked OkCupid to find true loveRelationships
In Relationships, Be Deliberate by Emily Esfahani Smith and Galena Rhoades
For milestones like moving in together, intent (rather than chronology) determines successEndless Love by Aaron Ben-Ze’ev
We no longer expect passion to last a lifetime, but some couples do stay in love to the end. What’s their secret?What Romance Really Means by Heather Havrilesky
Long-married romance is not the romance of watching someone’s every move like a stalker, and wanting to lick his face but trying to restrain yourselfThe Paradox of Slow Love by Anastasia Berg and Rachel Wiseman
No one formula can guarantee love and lasting commitment, but “taking it slow” may be a losing strategy.Deeply, Truly (but Not Physically) in Love by Lauren Slater
A personal account of the difficulties of maintaining a relationship when the sex has dried upIs an Open Marriage a Happier Marriage? by Susan Dominus
What the experiences of nonmonogamous couples can tell us about jealousy, love, desire and trustThe Polycrisis by Brandy Jensen
Why can’t we stop talking about nonmonogamy?What Shamu Taught Me About a Happy Marriage by Amy Sutherland
A wife tries to improve her husband by using exotic-animal training techniquesInfidelity
The State of Affairs by Jacob Falkovich
Marriage is a lot like physics – it runs into trouble when a third body is introducedWhy We Cheat by Lisa Taddeo
That's what I want to know. If you're going to wreck some other person's world, what's the good thing you're going to get?Why Women Stray by David Buss
Evolutionary theory says men stray to increase offspring, but what motivates women? Enter the mate-switching hypothesisThe Adultery Arms Race by Michelle Cottle
How digital tools are aiding the unfaithful and the untrusting—and may be mending some broken marriages...The Cuckold by James Harms
The top of her head is the first thing to come into view, then her face, her face. Her face had a look that I understood before I fully realized I was understanding itBreakups
This Was How Things Ended by Michael Hobbes
An essay about breakupsThis Is Your Brain on Heartbreak by Florence Williams
Love changes us at a physiological level, making us more sensitive to joy—and to painThe Breakup Museum by Leslie Jamison
Archiving the way we wereBeing Single
How to Be Single by Phoebe Robinson
How to be alone and only mildly hate and lukewarm love itIt's Not Them, It's You by Jen Doll
The plight of the single ladyTogether Alone by Michael Hobbes
The epidemic of gay lonelinessSee also...
100 Great Psychology Articles
Essential reading about the mechanics of thought50 Great Essays about Life
The best writing about the complexities of life in the modern world20 Great Articles about Happiness
Amazing articles about what it means to be happyThe Psychology of Love
Love by Lauren Slater
Scientists say that the brain chemistry of infatuation is akin to mental illness—which gives new meaning to ‘madly in love'The Science of Love by Barbara Fredrickson
We each carry an intricate machinery of love, calibrating and attuning our moods and bodies to one anotherThe Biology of Attraction by Helen E. Fisher
A comprehensive review of the biological underpinnings of sexual behaviour, from flirting and courtship to infidelity and break-upsLove Is Like Cocaine by Helen Fisher
From ecstasy to withdrawal, the lover resembles an addictThere's No Such Thing as Everlasting Love by Emily Esfahani Smith
Are emotions no more than "micro-moments of positivity resonance?50 more articles about psychology
Sex
Want to Have Better Sex? Here’s How by Nicole McNichols and Anna Martin
After 15 years teaching a class about sex, the most popular course at the University of Washington, this professor shares her most important takeawaysMen, Women, Sex And Darwin by Natalie Angier
A critical look at the widely held belief that all men want to play the field, while women are programmed for monogamy12 Revelations About Sex by Alain de Botton
In order to transcend the discomfort that sex typically stirs, you may need to radically rethink desire, marriage, fidelity, and much moreWhy My Wife Won't Sleep With Me by Sean Elder
Confessions of a dependent maleWomen Who Want to Want by Daniel Bergner
More than by any other sexual problem — the elusiveness of orgasm, say, or pain during sex — women feel plagued by low desire...50 more articles about sex
Kids These Days
Against Chill by Alana Massey
In recent years, “chill” has become one of the most desirable qualities in a romantic prospect. But it is a garbage virtue that will destroy the species.Teens Are Forgoing a Classic Rite of Passage by Faith Hill
Fewer young people are getting into relationshipsNo Labels, No Drama, Right? by Jordana Narin
Every time his name popped up on my phone, my heart raced. Still, we were never more than semiaffiliated...Why Developing Serious Relationships in Your 20s Matters by Elizabeth Spiers
Are you in your twenties? Have you been told that now is your time to build your own life and not worry about things like settling down and having children?Friends Without Benefits by Nancy Jo Sales
How dating apps, social media and porn are reshaping tennager's livesBoys on the Side by Hanna Rosin
Is the hookup culture an engine of female progress?50 more articles about growing up
Friendship
The Limits of Friendship by Maria Konnikova
Robin Dunbar came up with his eponymous number almost by accidentWhy Americans Suddenly Stopped Hanging Out by Derek Thompson
Too much aloneness is creating a crisis of social fitnessThe Type of Love That Makes People Happiest by Arthur C. Brooks
When it comes to lasting romance, passion has nothing on friendshipHow Friendships Change in Adulthood by Julie Beck
We need to catch up soon!It’s Your Friends Who Break Your Heart by Jennifer Senior
The older we get, the more we need our friends—and the harder it is to keep themFriends of a Certain Age by Alex Williams
Why Is It Hard to Make Friends Over 30?The Man Date by Jennifer 8. Lee
The delicate posturing began with the phone call....Misc.
On the Grid by Zoë Hitzig
How surveillance became a love languageWhy So Many People Are Going “No Contact” with Their Parents by Anna Russell
A growing movement wants to destigmatize severing ties. Is it a much-needed corrective, or a worrisome change in family relations?Friend or Faux? by Josh Dzieza
What do you love when you fall for AI?Books
Why We Love by Helen Fisher
"The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love"Essays in Love by Alain De Botton
Charting a relationship, from the first blush to the final heartbreakAll About Love by Bell Hooks
A critical examination of love in the modern world100 more great nonfiction books
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