Valentine's Day 2025: Are men more romantic than women? This February 14, let experts tell you the truth

Research indicates men hold more romantic ideals than women, yet society perceives women as more romantic. Find what experts believe.

Popular culture - whether it is Hollywood or Bollywood movies or even fictional characters from our favourite romance books - has led us to believe that men are more romantic than women. Even during Valentine's Day, you see men proposing or confessing their love, doing grand romantic gestures or more. But is that actually true?

According to experts, it may depend on how one defines romanticism and the cultural and societal expectations that may influence romantic behaviour. Per a 1989 study that developed the romantic beliefs scale - widely used in research to measure how strongly someone agrees or disagrees with romantic ideas such as love at first sight - men were more likely than women to endorse the ideology of romanticism and hold romantic beliefs.

Pop culture makes us believe that men are more romantic than women. (Photos: X)

Are men more romantic than women?

Justin Garcia, executive director of the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University, told The Washington Post, “Even as we’ve seen more gender egalitarian tendencies in dating. There are still a lot of gender norms around that. It makes it, in many ways, appear like men do more romantic things because they’re expected to.” The evolutionary biologist and sex researcher added, “I think men are more romantic than they’re often given credit for.”

Another research published by Cambridge University found that romantic relationships matter more to men than women and that they suffer more from love loss. They tend to strive harder to establish a romantic relationship, rely more on their significant others for emotional support, and are less likely to seek it outside their romantic relationships. Moreover, they are often also the ones to say ‘I love you first’, another study by the American Psychological Association pointed out.

Romantic relationships matter more to men

Meanwhile, another 2021 survey found that men are less likely to seek emotional support or share personal feelings with their friends.

Men are less likely to seek emotional support or share personal feelings with their friends. (Deepak Salvi)

Gwendolyn Seidman, a visiting scholar in the Department of Psychology at Michigan State University, told The Washington Post that though research points out that men hold more romantic ideals than women, society perceives the latter as more romantic. Per Seidman, this is because women tend to view themselves as being connected to their romantic partners, crave more closeness and connection in romantic relationships, and put more effort into maintenance.

“That’s different from being romantic,” she added. “In relationship research, romanticism refers to general beliefs about love rather than actions taken within romantic relationships. Believing in love at first sight or that we all have only one true love doesn’t relate to how much effort you put into your actual relationship day in and day out.”

In the end, men and women tend to want the same things out of their relationship, per Paul Eastwick, a professor of psychology at the University of California at Davis.

Conclusion

While studies suggest that men have a greater tendency to hold certain romantic beliefs, such as love at first sight, romanticism is influenced by cultural, societal, generational and individual relationship dynamics.

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.