>> I don't know that "bond-strenghtening" between couples can really be
>> achieved without sex, at least not at this point. I know of several
>> relationships that were severely harmed by lack of sexual activity...
>
>> <snipt>...Humans connect sex with emotional
>> intimacy, and that intimacy is what keeps a relationship going.
>
>What about situations where one develops a totally unreasonable
>crush on another person?
A one-way unreasonable crush is in my opinion not a healthy or meaningful relationship.
>Or what about those situations where intimacy
>*would have* evolved, except that one or both are sexually unavailable for
>whatever reason, such as, one or both are already married to others?
>These can be deep, meaningful relationships that may even last for many
>years, but never have the sexual context.
That's why I tried to specifiy that sex was important to maintaining a marriage-style relationship and keeping it from devolving into a close friendship. That's not at all to imply that close friendships are not deep or meaningful, but they're not the same thing as marriage.
Jocelyn Brown
jocelynb@mindspring.com