Men tend to have a bad reputation when it comes to commitment and marriage, especially in my Latin-American culture. It is not strange to find a married man openly flirting with women, having “girlfriends”, or from time to time going “off-track” and finding business-like encounters.
I remember growing up and having adults inquire about how many girlfriends I had. The tragedy was double – not only do these memories go back to my elementary school years, but the insinuation was that the more girls I “had” the more (choose between man/macho/cool/important/savvy/attractive) I was. Notice that girls were something to “have”, and in order to achieve that one must chase them. That chase could take the form of luring, courting or tricking. The combination of positive reinforcement through the accumulation of girls (a.k.a. trophies/awards) with the thrill of hunting new ones has corroded most of our media, self-image and the dignity of manhood.
February has been referred to as the month of love. It seems as if love indeed “is in the air”. There is love at every level – family type, religious type, and of course the romantic type. If I could pick a cultural icon for romantic love I think it would have to be the kiss.
