About Sales Director
Jenn Price does not proclaim to be an expert on dating…but her years of practice (and willingness to share stories) will certainly get people talking. Join in the dialogue each week as Jenn tackles matters of the heart.
Putting a label on a relationship is inevitable. It’s something that allows the world to understand a pair’s status in a way that is familiar.
A love label isn’t too different from a fashion label – they are both types of branding – and branding produces commonalities that create familiarity.
Until a relationship is defined, it can be a tricky topic to navigate through, particularly because there are so many labels, and they all mean something different to different people.
For me, unless the words are clearly spoken, there is room for misunderstanding and assumptions that can lead to hurt for one or both parties. Let’s take a stab at making sense of some of the labels that are out there by looking at the differences and definitions, starting with casual to committed.
Hooking up: usually purely sexual in nature.
Seeing each other: hanging out, perhaps occasional dates, may or may not involve sleeping together.
Dating: regularly spending time together, including formal dates and hanging out. No commitment or exclusivity has been agreed upon, and the parties could be dating others at the same time.
Exclusive relationship: Committed, labelled as boyfriend and girlfriend.
I’ve had experiences that range from a guy wanting to label us exclusively as boyfriend and girlfriend within the first couple of weeks, to having my patience wear thin hoping for a guy to be ready to commit to me and call me his girlfriend after a year of dating. Neither situation felt right.
The most natural experience has been one where we discussed where we stood after our actions indicated that we were not hooking up with, seeing or dating other people, and we were comfortable in making regular plans and discussing things we wanted to do together in the future. Little verbal cues such as “next time” or “when you meet so-and-so”, gave us comfort in knowing the other was becoming vested. A sure sign was when we each started bringing each other around to meet families, friends and colleagues, and when we were automatically each other’s dates for weddings and parties.
Still, the discussion was essential and (regardless of how strong of a woman I am), my preference is to have the man bring it up. However, it hasn’t always worked that way. In matters of the heart, I make sure I’m clear about what I would like and what’s expected of me. And, as much as I’d like to say that labels aren’t important to me, there’s a certain comfort that a label can provide. (Of course, if the actions aren’t there to back it up, the label is just a knock-off anyway.)
What is your take on labels? What are your definitions? How have you approached this topic?