THE FUTURE OF LOVE

THE FUTURE OF LOVE

Love has long been a source of power for women -- at times our sole means of influence.

"A woman's power lies only in the degree of unhappiness with which she can punish her lover," wrote Stendhal (1783-1842). Clearly, power imbalances -- in which a woman is economically dependent and can exert her will only through emotional scenes -- can poison love relationships. But what happens to love in modern relationships that strive for an equal sharing of power?

Reports from the new mating frontier make up our special section on The Future of Love. "The State of the Couple" takes a look at young and mid-life mating today, and at the possibilities for widening the circle of love from the particular (mate, family members) to the more general, transcendent love of friends and neighbors that can generate the social changes we all long to see. In "Deep Tapioca" Jill Johnston gives a stream-of-consciousness account of her legal-at-last lesbian marriage celebration in Denmark. And "Paying His Way" is Laurel Touby's honest and entertaining account of the heady freedom of picking up the check.