Valentine’s can always be a complicated time of the year, whether you’re single or in a relationship. You can claim to be in it only for the chocolate and flowers or to buy a bottle of sparkling wine for your mother. In other cases, you buy the teddy bears and candy for yourself or read your favorite books with affection and strong relationships. Or you just go to work and treat it like a normal day.
Should love be commercialized? I argue that some forms may do better when you actually put a price tag in front of them. Others cause stress for people. We ought to figure out which types of love do us better.
The Types Of Good Monetized Love
Fiction – When we read a book, watch a movie, or play a videogame, paying money to see love ensures that the creators can get their bills. A creator puts to pen the emotions that we may feel. Or we are creators and are able to express how we feel.
Consider how romance novels are a viable industry, and books bring joy to readers of all genders. With more people of color entering the fray, we see those marginalized receiving their happily ever after, to show that they’re not alone.
What are good examples of this? I like Meg Cabot’s romance novels, and will always recommend them. Every Boy’s Got One is my favorite for adult readers. From the Notebooks of A Middle-School Princess is great for kids, and it talks about love in an age-appropriate manner.
There’s also shoujo manga that goes into the complications that come when someone wants to date the lead in a series. Romance comics, as sparse as they are, are also worth the read. Or some that talk about the tribulations of growing up and worrying about your crushes, such as Smile, bring words to the importance of accepting your flaws and virtues. Love can also extend to the self.
The Humiliating Commercialization
It’s romantic love playing out in real life that seems to get the short end of the stick. People are expected to get gifts for their loved ones. Restaurants double their rates for certain evening gatherings. Jewelers say that they get tired of seeing guys run to their shops to find the exact gift their partner wants. Meg Cabot references guys that give sewing machines as presents instead of rings. Some of them are keepers, and some aren’t.
When you’re single, the advertising about tennis bracelets, heart-shaped lockets, chocolates, or true love can hit harder. You want to believe in fairy tales. Life, unfortunately, doesn’t have people who will be your everything. You have to compromise and make it work. Some parts of your heart are still fragmented, and you wonder who secretly doesn’t see you as a person when they date you.
It’s tough. Sometimes the best solution is to spend time with people who do love you as you are. Or sometimes going through your day also helps when you are very busy.
Take advantage of the sales on chocolates, flowers, and candy. You deserve some love, to make any mixed feelings about the holiday so much better. Have some chocolate, and find the rose in your life.
