[CHAT] Valentine's, Schmalentine's
With Valentine's Day coming up and the stores being filled with flowers and chocolates to sell, it's time to get a little romantic. Valentine's Day makes itself very apparent when it near arguably rivals Christmas even though it's celebrated by a lot less people.
"What if I don't have a special someone to celebrate it with?", some of you are surely thinking. Ever felt the pressure heighten particularly on this day or see it as a stark reminder of what you're missing? Well you've found the perfect discussion!
So how do you feel about Valentines Day and the pressure from Cupid? Just a meaningless holiday or a nice reminder to appreciate the people we love in our life? Share your thoughts by joining us here on Valentine's Day Eve at 8pm AEDT on Monday, February 13th to discuss what is truly important on Valentine's Day!
Well it's past 10pm which means the end of the GR session, but it doesn't mean it's the end of conversation 🙂 Please do keep answering our last question or just contribute to the discussion!
Goodnight everyone :)!!
I see a recurring theme is extending it from just romantic relationships to pretty much all relationships which I really love cause I would say they're just as important as romantic relationships
Thanks fot all your help @letitgo ! yeah i agree with a lot of what everyone is saying, also maybe reframing so that its less about spoiling and being with one person and more about spending time with people you love regardless! And just maybe being grateful for the love we have
Time for the next question!! 🙂
What are some ways we can reinvent this “holiday”?
What are some ways we can reinvent this “holiday”?
Encourage people to make up their own unique way of showing their loved ones how much they care and not having expectations put on other people.
What are some ways we can reinvent this “holiday”?
Maybe make it more about community feeling, everybody supporting one another and genuinely caring and showing love? And other important things like showing love for the environment and stuff. Also making it more educative, learning about healthy relationships and communication skills and stuff.
Also bees. It needs more bees. 🙂
Some ways to re-invent the holiday might be to change the way we talk/think about it, to challenge the expectation (whether out loud or in our minds) that we need to be in a relationship.
I think also showing affection for others in our lives e.g. friends/family on that day could be one way of shifting the focus from romantic love to all kinds. But I'm stumped when it comes to other ideas, to be honest...
It's just about my bedtime, so I shall be off! Wishing you all a happy Valentine's Day/Galentines Day/OverCommercialised Holiday! 
Flowing on for some of the things everyone has been saying about reframing valentines day,
What are some positive ways to celebrate friendship and companionship, whether romantic or otherwise?
What are some positive ways to celebrate friendship and companionship, whether romantic or otherwise?
- Having a fun day out
- Going out for dinner
- Spend time out with friends
Agreed @N1ghtW1ng! And perhaps we focus on intimacy at the super romantic and sexual end of the spectrum and forget that just spending time watching TV with someone, going out to dinner, having a good chat, could all be intimacy too...or at least my definition of intimacy hehe
I suppose intimacy can be both physical, emotional and verbal.
Speaking of intimacy and other kinds of other attractions, Do you think that Valentine's Day is unfair to those who love in different ways? For example asexuals and aromatics?
Do you think that Valentine's Day is unfair to those who love in different ways? For example asexuals and aromatics?
To belatedly answer your question @N1ghtW1ng, I do think that Valentine's day is super unfair for aces and aros, and kind of to a lesser extent the LGBT+ community as a whole. It seems to be very focused on traditional het relationships and gender roles, but I think this'll change over time 🙂
@roseisnotaplant what do you reckon an inclusive Valentine day might look like?
Hmm @Ben-RO. I think...
- Less of a focus on romantic love and more of a focus on things like friendship
- I see a lot of like 'him and her' stuff, so like altering that to be inclusive of like all sorts of people and relationships
- Removing stereotypes (like gender stereotypes and the expectations that come with them etc)
- Probably some other things, it's the end of a long day and I can't really think 😛
I'm not sure how we get there though.
@Ben-RO I think that an intimacy spectrum is totally a valid idea. On one end you have your enemies (very extreme - I don't think I have any enemies lol), and on the other, if it's like a platonic intimacy spectrum, you'd have like your best best friends. And then there'd be everything in between. That totally makes sense.
That idea sort of reminds be of terminology in the ace/aro communities, but I don't feel super qualified or knowledgable in those areas 😛
Well, this is the end of this GR for tonight but feel free to hop on later if you missed it and add your answers! Thanks for coming and have a good night guys!
