THE DAILY WEAR AND TEAR OF CONJUGAL RELATIONS

A CHALLENGE FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF LOVE AND DESIRE

Abstract

Besides expectations man and woman introduce into marital life beliefs and values originating from the family history and the social-cultural context. The daily wear and tear of the relationships favors the appearance of unpleasant attitudes that can lead to aversion. This study evaluates the possibility of the maintenance of love, desire and sexual pleasure in spite of the wear and tear caused by conjugal routine. Both men and women with at least a five-year relationship from Governador Valadares were interviewed. It was observed that active participation of the woman in the labor field, power disputes, frustrations resulting from unfulfilled expectations and the lack of participation of the man in household chores favor hurt, disinterest and even sexual inability, making the maintenance of love and desire more difficult. Because of this wear and tear conjugal love manifests itself in a more moderate form than in the beginning of the relation without causing its fallacy. Many couples create strategies to heat up their relations again.