what do you think? do these two things always have to go hand in hand? sex can be had without love, but can love be had without sex or some other form of intimate relations?

i believe so...based on my personal experience i find that it's easy to seperate love and sex,

start out thinking about the love between a parent and child. There is no sexual gratification, interest or feelings, yet i can't think of anything else that people as a group and individually love more...and most humane people will do anything to protect them, even if they are unknown to them...

just think of sex as a natural chemical reaction between two animals...no matter how high up on the brain scale they may be, they see each other, they smell each other, and then they gratify their basic need...whether it's for procreation or the few animals that are able to enjoy sex for the sex of it...it feels good.

there are several men who i can say i love, and we do have a closeness, but there's nothing sexual about it, the thought of sex with these fine gentlemen actually....turns me off! and they are cute too, but too wonderful to risk the hassle and crushed feelings that unplanned attachments can cause.

and then there's the love i feel for my husband, i've never experienced the sensation i do with him...it's a comforting love that makes me feel complete...and sex is a way we let eachother know on a physical level how much we still want each other...love is just the glue that makes it stick

then there are old couples that exist as husband and wife with absolutely nothing sexual, they're just happy spending their life with someone they've loved forever...sometimes they even have seperate rooms!

I think there would be a lot less hurt feelings and broken hearts if more people could seperate love and sex...and realize that you can't keep someone with sex alone...

i like that arguement. do you think that love can still exist (within a couple's relationship) without sex?

dont worry, for the most part i agree with you... but... the above goes against my freudian theory... there are countless historical records (and states in the south) where incest isn't frowned upon.

yes, although it could become quite boring......yet, think of the times you are in love with some and not ingaging in a sexual encounter, that right there is some proof that love can exist with sexual interaction......but never engaging in sexual interaction and still loving someone is funny to me because it signifies a style of love different than people who do engage in sexual interaction......yay, sex is fun

ok, you dont fuck... thats great... but you cant tell me you havent thought about it ONCE... cause that one time is all it takes...

i didn't remeber saying i don't fuck........but i don't engage in that many sexual interactions, no..........i just believe that relationships built on sex mistake lust for love.......but i like sex, sort of

i didnt say ALL fucking... i meant with this "entirely platonic" friendships and whatnot...

are you referring to a fuck buddy?

no... im saying that there is no way to completely divorce onceself from considering a member of the opposite gender sexually... even if youre 'just friends'... there are still going to be those moments when the pheromones hit you and you're going to see them in a sexual light...

that's true, i suppose

Men think below the belt often(but not allways

No, sex and love intertwine often. In very subtle ways sometimes.. But they do.. Can you have one without the other, Yes.. But that fine line is way to fine to define..LOL

i agree. sometimes they seem to coexist with one another and the same realm, surprisingly as it might sound.

Love and sex are like ejaculation and orgasm in men. They are actually two separate things that tend to happen at the same time and so get confused as being one. That's my quick answer after having been up all night, I'm sure I could explain better in a more coherent state.
As for errantrogue's question, it is a fact that at least once you will likely think of anyone, regardless of gender and your sexuality, in a sexual manner. I'm not making that up. This is a deep rooted social behavior we have lingering from our primate past. Bonobos chimps, who share 98% of our DNA makeup, maintain sexual contact as part of everyday activity. There are no morals and there are no boundaries for coupling, fondling, etc. Well, a couple realting to incest, though even that doesn't begin until reproductive maturity. Quite often the parents are involved in the sexual education of the young. Handshakes are replaced with a greeting groin rub. Interestingly, these chimps are the only of the great apes (we are included in that) who do not kill each other.
Anyways, our feelings towards another are merely electro-chemicla reactions to specific stimuli. Most of these are survival mechanisms, such as the mother/child bond, while others appear to be products of our "greater intelligence". Humans aren't the only animals to display some of these traits.
The point of couples who love each other but do not have sexual relationships is actually very common. I have even known a few. That's not to say they have never had sex, but for some reason they no longer have sex, and even have separate bedrooms, yet still live together and are happy with each other.
Of course, we all know that sex does not require love to happen. Does love require sex? Apparently not. Especially when considering the different levels and types of love one can experience. Not to mention the familial bond, which I don't fully understand having known so many who love their family regardless of the crap and/or abuse they suffer from them. I understand the Freudian reference, but too often people take him too literally. After all, even he said that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar (though I often think he just said that cuz he smokes them). Actually, I kinda punch a nice, big hole in the Oedipus complex theory, but that's related more to my individual experience and upbringing. The same goes for everyone, how they respond to a person will largely be reflective of their life experience.

~snickers~ that was nice.. ejaculation and orgasm...LOL

that was very informative and amusing, apostate.

love and sex can go hand in hand but they are not interchangeable. you can have one without the other but cant substitute one for another its not the same.

i suppose that's true. what evidence do you have to support your side of the arguement, just curious?

fuck buddys- sex without love. or at least the kind of love im thinking of.

loving relationships--old couples who still are blissfully happy though their reproductive parts arent like they used to. Love

my relationship--healthy balance of both...and though it sounds corny until him i never knew what "making love" was. its not just sex in fact i hardly consider it to be teh same thing. its a tad difficult to explain. perhaps im just naive