Let’s Talk About Platonic Marriages
Foreign though it may seem to modern western society, romantic love is not a prerequisite for marriage.
Joining the illustrious history of such contrarian thought experiments as women’s rights and the fight to end apartheid is a concept known as platonic marriage.
An oxymoron, you say? Au contraire, platonic marriage is only for the most steadfast and practical among us. Believe it or not, people can love and care for one another deeply even in the absence of physical or sexual attraction.
Platonic intimacy involves not only having the ability to stand in the presence of our life partner without wanting to gauge our eyes out but actually — get this!— enjoying their company.
To be sure, such an enterprise is not for the feeble-minded, the faint of heart, or the uncivilized who desperately cling to notions of kismet or soulmates.
Mind you, I’m not advocating that we return to the dark ages when marriage carried the perfunctory weight of a simple transaction — three ox and seven cattle for half an acre of your land.
Nonetheless, undertaking platonic marriage is serious business.
But for the brave who endeavor nonetheless, a cornucopia of side effects await, including confused looks from society, a solidified sense of your newfound renegade status, and a general disregard for public opinion — which, of course, negates the first two.
If you’re still on the fence, consider this: If half of all marriages end in divorce, why not stack the deck in your favor and marry your best friend?
If anything I’ve said even remotely resonates with you, I invite you to come over to the dark side. We have third-party cookies. 🍪
“I have loved people passionately whom I wouldn’t have slept with for anything, but I think that’s something else. That’s friendship — love, which can be a tremendously passionate emotion, and it can be tender and involve a desire to hug or whatever. But it certainly doesn’t mean you want to take off your clothes with that person. But certain friendships can be erotic. Oh, I think friendship is very erotic, but it isn’t necessarily sexual. I think all my relationships are erotic: I can’t imagine being fond of somebody I don’t want to touch or hug, so therefore there’s always an erotic aspect to some extent.”
