Two heart-shaped balloons against a pink background

Rethinking Love and Autism

Scholars question the common conception that people with Autism Spectrum Disorder don't experience love like neurotypical people do.
Wedding rings on an American flag

How Love Transformed American Immigration Law

Love was a deciding factor in the expansion of Asian immigration to the United States, via laws that emerged from Congress in the 1960s.
A headstone featuring clasped hands

The Cemetery Symbol of Eternal Love

Why did Victorian-era gravestones include so many images of clasped hands?
Two wolves

The Totally Unromantic Origin of Monogamy

Evolutionary biology offers theories as to why some mammals engage in monogamy. And no, it's not because they're in love. (Sorry.)
A couple sitting on a bench and talking

How Does Couples Therapy Work?

Since the 1980s, more and more couples have sought therapy. Why is it so helpful to have that third person in the room?
Felicitación de cumpleaños by Raimundo de Madrazo y Garreta

The Disappointing Reality of Nineteenth-Century Courtship

For white, middle-class women in the nineteenth-century United States, courtship and marriage offered less emotional intimacy than their friendships with other women.
Signing the marriage contract by George Sheridan Knowles, 1905

Why Covenant Marriage Failed to Take Off

Three states have legalized covenant marriage, which makes divorce difficult. Why didn't it stick among communities preoccupied with family values?
A collection of romance novels

The Business of the Romance Novel

How romance novels—despite their decided lack of cultural clout—became big business for the publishing industry.
Two scientists in a hot air balloon

When Victorian Scientists Caught Ballomania

In a moment when scientists were working to fashion a credible identity for themselves, they had to decide how much showmanship was too much.
Two teenagers dancing the jitterbug, 1942

Germany’s Real-Life “Swing Kids” 

Rebellious teenagers thumbed their noses at Hitler with jazz music, wild dancing, and the greeting “Swing Heil.” But how serious was their resistance?