“Do you have a boyfriend?”
“A story without romance is so boring.”
“You’ll find someone!”
Why is romance considered more important than other loves? Why should friendship and platonic love be considered any less valuable than a romantic relationship? Many people are under the impression that they can’t be complete until they find their “other half”. To quote one of my favorite books, Naomi & Ely’s No Kiss List, “There is no such thing as a soulmate... and who would want there to be? I don’t want half of a shared soul. I want my own damn soul.” I don’t mean to say romance isn’t incredible, because it is. It’s beautiful and imperfect and an infinite amount of other things. But so is friendship. So is any other love.
Just as it is in the real world, romance is prevalent in the cinematic and literary world. The problem begins only when characters are reduced to that of a love interest. Each character was still a person with personality and depth before they interacted with a potential love interest, and should remain so. Furthermore, not every character has to have a love interest, and not every character has to be upset they don’t. Let people be happy by themselves. Normalize the importance of platonic love. Normalize the idea that a person is complete without a significant other.
There is a misconception that a person is unhappy if they aren’t dating or married. But a person is enough on their own. Maybe they don’t want that kind of relationship, maybe they’re happy where they are. Don’t push anyone to pretend they’re less of person because of a relationship status. Because they are not. Family, friends, or significant others. They all have varying levels of importance to each unique individual human. No more boxes saying “this one thing is who you should be”. We’re all so much more than one thing.
You are allowed to love more than one person, in whatever way you like. To again quote Naomi & Ely’s No Kiss List, “It’s a total lie to say there’s only one person you’re going to be with for the rest of your life. If you’re lucky—and if you try really hard—there will always be more than one.” -Josie Bleess