
TL;DR
Modern discourse on love emphasizes caring and sharing while ignoring equality and justice, making household chores a litmus test for fairness in relationships.
Valentine's flowers, wedding vows, and social media posts—modern talk about love is all about caring and sharing, as if that's the whole story.
Who decides the division of love
But in reality, the biggest problem a couple faces daily is often not whether they love each other, but who does the dishes. This seemingly trivial issue goes straight to the heart of love: where are fairness and justice when it comes to dividing household chores?
From 'love' to 'division of labor'
The author points out that romantic discourse has turned chores into 'expressions of love', so the one who does more gets praised as 'thoughtful', while the one who does less feels entitled. This logic masks power imbalances: whoever earns more, or is more 'needed' in the relationship, ends up doing less.
Bringing love back to earth
Philosophy hardly helps—traditional ethics does discuss justice, but mainly for strangers, falling apart the moment it enters the home. What's really needed is to bring equality and justice back into the conversation about love: not sacrifice, but division; not emotion, but negotiation.
In short: don't use love to mask unfairness; justice is the most tangible foundation of love.
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