Global Journal of Human Social Science, C: Sociology and Culture, Volume 22 Issue 6

Through a process of analysis and critique, we can deconstruct ideas that have been normalized, prejudices, myths and subjective beliefs that have been distorting the understanding of love, and that have made it a source of problems. When we realize that this phenomenon can often be considered irrational and not susceptible to be treated and investigated, we can explain why, especially in the Bolivian context, not much of this kind of research has been carried out. Romantic love is also related to the perpetuation of women's subordination, gender inequity and its implication in violence against women. Understanding these mechanisms and how they work, therefore, leads to their transformation in the future (Galarza et al. 2005). VAW will not cease to exist if it is not recognized and this is because it is not merely a matter of learning to live and deal with it, but also of perceiving it as a phenomenon that can be controlled and that can be transformed in the present and future. Treating it as something that transcends science and that must be addressed by society itself. Future generations can create and live in a world without violence, with physical, mental and emotional health, well-being and a good quality of life. II. C onceptual R eferences To understand this research, it is necessary to take into account factors such as gender, which arises from the need to break with the concept of sex, which biologically determines people and was also used to symbolically and effectively determine their destinies by clearly differentiating men and women. However, taking into account that such terminology is remade with each new research that is carried out; it can be concluded that the concept itself relates to science, society and the construction of identity; and it also allows us to analyze how sociocultural characteristics influence the creation of identity and the view that one has or seeks to project towards others. (Casares, 2008). In order to understand gender stereotypes and gender roles, it is important to identify the thin line that separates these two concepts, since they constantly feed-back on each other. According to Casares (2008), gender roles are any activity or behavior that is assigned to each sex and that depends on each society; they vary according to culture, society and time, and are influenced by economic, ethnic and religious factors. Stereotypes, on the other hand, are based on the way people perceive reality, they are part of the symbolic world and are believed to be the main cause of inequality between people. It could be said that they are an accumulation of concise ideas that are deeply rooted in the conscious and unconscious and that they are detached from the control of reason, it should also be emphasized that their impetus is not only psychological, but that being endowed with a perfect material reality within the societies that conceive them, they are reinforced and strengthened, becoming thus consolidated. What is intended is to normalize the differentiation between sexes, providing each one with roles which they claim are better endowed for each one. These roles and stereotypes vary from one society to another, and are maintained and reinforced thanks to the social condemnation inflicted on people who do not conform to them; they are supported by the feedback mechanisms that each society provides and thanks to the relationship between the mental image built by society of each sex and the role they are expected to fulfill. Regarding love, it can be said that it is difficult to define, and this is because there are many differences between the information provided by the different points of view from which it is approached (psychology, history, anthropology, etc.), but in order to address any problem to be investigated, it is important to conceptualize it theoretically, taking into account culture, history and science and how these influence its construction (Galarza et al. 2005). Love is a fairly complex human construct that also has a social and cultural dimension that intervenes and comes to determine couple-relationships. Emotions and sexuality Volume XXII Issue VI Version I 10 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2022 © 2022 Global Journals C Romantic Love and Violence against Women from a Gender Approach Getting involved in this subject, by investigating and analyzing it, could contribute not only to an approach or perspective on how to understand it, since it also allows everyone to recognize that it exists and that it is an everyday reality, but at the same time, imply that this phenomenon can be changed and thus, with greater knowledge about it, formulate strategies to address it, putting an emphasis on prevention and the promotion of a good quality of life. It is important to take into account that romantic love, being a cultural and social construction which depends on the particular environment and epoch; the concept that young people attending college in the city of La Paz have of it, also has its particularities, so it is proper to study this within its particular epoch and context. The current model must be known, because, although it is nurtured by the past, it also acquires its own characteristsics over time (Herrera, 2020). One of the possible causes that determines that Violence Against Women has reached such high levels, could be the normalization of violence; VAW has been normalized and linked to sociocultural patterns learned and transmitted from generation to generation. That is why it is necessary to work on the deconstruction and reconstruction of the concept, as well as the stereotypes and misconceptions that are held about gender and its attributions (Jahan, 2018). It is appropriate to emphasize that violence in this context is learned, therefore, there is a lot that can be done about it. It is possible to contribute to this generation and to break the patterns of violence against women that have occurred so far, since VAW is not only a cause of inequality, but also a consequence of it, so we must move forward and seek to obtain societies that are more committed and just.