Relationship Stereotypes

Hopefully you haven't grown up with this kind of crap. But just in case you run into it, know that none of the following are true. At all.

Dating and romance is for your own pleasure and happiness, and if the other person doesn't make you feel high all the time, it's not worth the effort
Healthy dating habits can be found in the Disney movies
Consent is not important if you conform to social norms
One gender is superior to the other gender, therefore it is important to keep the other one in their place
Everyone always knows all about who they'll fall in love with before they do, if they do, especially their appearance, personality traits, and all the other stuff they look for on apps like Tinder. They just know who Mr. or Mrs. Right is by judging them on their traits, no doubt about it.
The Friend Zone is totally fine to be in if you love the other person, especially if you'd never be their friend if you weren't interested in them
You are incomplete without a romantic partner and you'll never be truly happy that way.
Living together before marriage is a bad idea.
Not having kids is a terrible mistake.
Dating is wrong, get married as soon as you can and you'll 100% guaranteed be happy
Society knows exactly what love is, and how to find it, and how to make sure it works out, which is why social norms for relationships are So Important.
Puppy love isn't real, so just leave behind any high school sweethearts if you ever go off to college.
Long distance relationships never work.
Relationships with a difficulty factor such as people from different backgrounds or skin colors, or countries, will never work
Chick flicks, rom-coms, romance novels, and other porn are TOTALLY realistic
Sex is (insert religion-based moralizing here) - unless you want to believe it's true, in which case go ahead, your choice, just know that there's no scientific evidence for or against the morality of sex
People magically know how to have sex in a way that is safe, consensual, pleasurable, and that causes no harm
Love has to be comfortable, predictable, and easy or it's not love, so just give up on it
Fulfilling gender roles in your relationship will make everybody happy
Hurting your partner is okay in some contexts
Children bring a couple closer together
Abuse doesn't even exist in romantic relationships; everything is always fine, especially if you're not getting physically hurt Signs of abuse
Abusive partners always deliberately intend to hurt their partners
Low-key unintentional abusers (not including the cruel and malicious kind, or the violent kind) can never be reasoned with and can never change
If you're always trying to find reasons why this relationship is not abusive despite it matching basically all of the red flags on lists such as that linked above, it's safe to stay and everything will be fine
Dealing with an abusive partner is moral if it's to stay together for the kids
Children need both parents, so it's important to settle for anyone as a parental figure
The woman is always right, especially in custody cases
All of [insert gender here] are [insert stereotype here].
If it feels good, it's right, and if it feels really great, it's definitely perfect
A romantic relationship cannot exist between [this over 18, consenting human] and [that unrelated, consenting, over 18 human] for whatever social reason was concocted today
Someone who makes you cry all the time is a suitable partner
Friends with benefits, polyamory, swinging, and other situations where one person may catch feelings and the others may not are totally not fraught with possible emotional fallout
Your relationship must not have "let's talk about us" talks; you should know each other well enough to not need to communicate about anything and be linked enough to read each others' thoughts or your relationship is not romantic or good enough
If you don't fulfill their needs and they don't fulfill your needs, then don't even bother communicating about it and neither of you will ever change anyway; just break up
Romantic tropes like roses and chocolates will work on everyone regardless of their individual preferences, no doubt about it
Pickup lines are inoffensive, fun, and work really well
Compromising on anything isn't necessary in a relationship because they'll accept you and your habits and you will theirs and you won't have to change at all
It's not necessary to take care of or support your romantic partner or partners in any way, since they're full-grown adults and are fully capable of taking care of themselves
You are perfect as you are, you just have to find someone who sees it, who you also think is perfect as they are, and then you will go be perfect together
Twin flames, soul mates, "the one," the ideal perfect person for you, is out there somewhere
Love is not a choice, it just happens, and when it does, it doesn't require any effort or work on your part
Falling in love and being in a relationship will solve all your problems, make you happy, and fix your life

Big Brain Time

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