What is love? Love from sociological perspectives and queer love in Indonesia

Abstract

Love is a narrative that takes a defined form, even in lived experiences. This raises the question of whether same-sex love that follows the traditional romance narrative can be rightfully considered queer. Arab Muslims live in a society strongly tied to Islamic restrictions where the subject of homosexuality is strictly forbidden and considered taboo. The ideal of being loved and loving someone almost universally aspired to. This paper examines the definition of love, provides insight into the perspectives on love from sociologists Durkheim, Marx, Sorokin, and Parson, and analyzes queer love in Indonesia. Through four short narratives, this study aims to gain a deeper understanding of love for both heterosexual and homosexual individuals. The research employs a qualitative method, and the interviews were limited to four participants aged between 35 and 45 from Jakarta. The study affords participants considerable freedom in answering the provided questions. I conduct interviews at various locations such as shopping malls, restaurants, and coffee shops, following the interviewees' preferences. For privacy reasons, pseudonyms are used for all names mentioned in this paper.