Speaking as someone who does not limit my relationships based on gender, what, besides sex, separates a relationship from a friendship?
Sex is the obvious answer, but there are buddies who hook up, but wouldn’t consider what they have to be a monogamous relationship. Is it perhaps the fact that two people have decided to be monogamous? So then would open and polyamourous relationships not be considered a true relationship?
Is it passion, affection and intimacy? A couple should share those three things in order to have a successful relationship?
Or is it just when two people decide between each other that they are in a relationship that they are. Do we make our own definitions based on the person with whom we have a relationship?
As long as two people are relating to one another in some way, you have a relationship.
When you buy cigarettes from the convenience store every day, you have a relationship with the clerk. It just happens to be a casual low-investment business relationship.
I hate the conventional connotation of the word “relationship” i.e. monogamous, romantic coupling between two sexually compatible partners. That’s a throwback to the 50’s. In this day and age, there are a much larger variety of arrangements, no less valid than the other.
But let’s say there is a couple who have agreed to be in a relationship, perhaps even a marriage, but they are much more like friends than like lovers or husband/wife and husband/wife. Should that still be considered a partnership, relationship, whatever word you want to use?
Is it merely their decision that changes what they have? Is that really the only difference?
And that doesn’t translate to monogomy - nor romance or intamacy.
I have a “relationship” with some good friends that isn’t sexual (I’m monogomously married), but its gone beyond friendship in that I think I have a good idea of who I’d help in time of need, and who would help me. That makes for a relationship. I am committed to these people - and barring them really screwing me over - I intend to remain committed.
Likewise, on a different level, my husband and I established a “relationship” (as opposed to bed buddies) when we began to make plans that were farther out than Friday night - an implied committment to each other. When the plans began to extend to “what are we going to name our (unconcieved) children” and “what would you like to do with our retirement” it implied a special level of committment.
I have a girlfriend who broke up with her boyfriend after a year or so. Although they were monogomous, he was unable to commit to anything beyond “next week.”