ABSTRACT
When we talk about relationships (as in, ‘are you in a relationship?’, ‘who was your last relationship with?’, or ‘are they having a relationship?’) what we almost invariably mean is a sexual relationship. Sex and love have become intertwined and we generally assume that they come, and go, together. We even use the word ‘lover’ synonymously with ‘sexual partner’. It is taken for granted that partners will have sex together, and that stopping having sex is a sign of problems in a relationship. To be attracted to someone (see Chapter 2) means to want to have sex with them.
