The Romantic Ideal of Men and Women Involved in the Relationship of Friends with Benefits

This study provides a descriptive analysis of some beliefs or myths of romantic love that maintain individuals involved in the sexual relationship called friends with benefits (FWB). These beliefs generate dissatisfaction in the couple, perpetuate gender inequalities and are in the genesis and maintenance of gender violence. The myths under study have been jealousy, exclusivity, fidelity, true love, the sudden onset of love, powerful love, and binomial sex-love. The sample was made up of 119 adults. An online questionnaire validated in our context by judges has been used as a tool for data collection. Participants were asked to indicate whether or not they identified with a particular myth of romantic love. The results indicate that most of these beliefs, though weakened, remain despite the pragmatic, superficial and liberal nature of these relationships. Some gender stereotypes persist, men are still heavily biased by tilting sex, while women remain significantly claiming the exclusivity of the relationship. In conclusion, friends with benefits do not get rid of a romantic imaginary that generates emotional and sexual inequalities between men and women and is the source of problems in the couple.