Abstract
The authors propose that the importance of romantic love as a basis for marriage will occur only in societies that allow both males and females to give or not give love freely. Based on their belief that sexual attraction or passion is a primary criterion of romantic love, the authors hypothesize that there will be a positive correlation between the importance of romantic love and social indicators of sexual equality. Rosenblatt’s 11-point rating scale of romantic love is used to test this hypothesis. The authors find that societies that allow premarital and extramarital sex for both males and females rate romantic love significantly higher than societies that have a double standard or have strong sanctions against female sexuality out of wedlock. It is concluded that the type of sanction against female sexuality is the critical factor for predicting the cultural importance of romantic love as a basis for marriage.
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