In my early 30s, I felt like this desperation to settle down like it was a race.

More women are ditching the idea of marriage.

About 50% of women felt marriage was not important to having a fulfilling life.

The valuing of romance and the valuing of a partner over platonic friendship

is definitely pushed onto women more than it is onto men to their detriment.

There is an over emphasis on romantic love in our culture.

Society's obsession with romantic love over everything else is just a little out of balance

and I think it's kind of sabotaging people.

Let's talk about it today. Welcome back to step by step.

This is a podcast where in the past I've talked about ways to live better holistically, but now it's

kind of turning into a commentary channel. You guys are liking it and I'm having fun with it. So let's

continue. I have a lot of ideas of things to talk about. But this is one I've been thinking about

for a little while.

It is our society's prioritization of romantic love over everything else,

almost as a replacement for community and how I think it's gone a little too far,

to the detriment of people, both single and in relationships.

Now, listen, I'm not a total hater.

I am single now, but eventually would like to be in a relationship again listen, I'm not a total hater. I am single now, but eventually

would like to be in a relationship again. So I'm not like anti-men, anti-marriage, anything like that.

Though I have seen some discourse like that on TikTok recently. That is just sort of interesting,

like just the far end of the pendulum shifting. But I do think that it's just a little out of balance and people prioritize it over everything else to the point where it is a replacement for having a sense of community at all.

In some ways, I think it causes people who are single to sabotage themselves and just act weird. I'll explain. And of course, this can

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