What Is "Fourth Love"? Revealing the Psychology Behind This Special Relationship Pattern

Today let's discuss a relatively niche topic—"Fourth Love." This isn't your ordinary relationship pattern—it belongs to sexual minority groups within heterosexuality, with unique manifestations in Chinese cultural context.

What Is "Fourth Love"?

The term "Fourth Love" in Chinese culture is closely related to "gender role reversal." Simply put, it's a relationship pattern where women take charge and men are protected.

Specific Meaning

- Core characteristic: Female dominance, male protection - Involves special sexual behavior patterns (pegging) - Opposite to traditional heterosexual gender roles

Why Called "Fourth Love"?

According to love type classification: 1. **First love**: Traditional heterosexuality 2. **Second love**: Male homosexuality 3. **Third love**: Female homosexuality 4. **Fourth love**: Gender role-reversed heterosexuality

Research Findings: Characteristics of Fourth Love Population

To understand Fourth Love population's features, researchers conducted specialized surveys:

Research Subjects

- 144 Fourth Love community members - 145 traditional heterosexuals as control group - Used professional scales for comparative analysis

Gender Role Characteristics

**Fourth Love women**: - Score higher on masculinity subscales - More inclined to identify with masculine gender roles

**Fourth Love men**: - Score lower on masculinity subscales - Score higher on femininity subscales - Exhibit relatively neutral gender role characteristics

Marriage Attitude Differences

- **Fourth Love women**: More negative toward traditional marriage - **Fourth Love men**: Also more negative toward marriage than traditional heterosexual men

**Reason analysis**: This may relate to women's status in traditional Chinese marriage culture—Fourth Love emphasizes female dominance, thus stronger resistance to traditional marriage patterns.

Society's Attitude Toward "Fourth Love"

College Student Awareness Survey

Researchers surveyed 315 college students about Fourth Love understanding:

**Awareness status**: - 60% college students have heard of "Fourth Love" - But nearly 20% have understanding deviations from actual situation

Attitude Influencing Factors

**Gender**: Women have more positive attitudes toward Fourth Love than men **Birthplace**: Urban and rural college students show attitude differences **Education level**: Attitudes become more positive with higher grades **Sexual minority identity**: Sexual minorities have more positive attitudes than traditional heterosexuals

Psychological Significance of Fourth Love

Gender Diversity Exploration

Fourth Love's emergence reflects gender diversity exploration: - Breaks fixed frameworks of traditional gender roles and sexual behavior patterns - Demonstrates diversity in sexual orientation and gender role identification

Social Pressure and Internal Struggle

Fourth Love population may face: - Pressure from family and society - Traditional expectations for male dominant roles - Prejudice against women's "disobedient" behavior

Practical Suggestions

If You're in Fourth Love Population

1. **Learn self-acceptance**: Your unique choices reflect your true self—don't deny yourself due to external pressure 2. **Find support**: Connect with like-minded friends or join healthy communities 3. **Good communication**: Fully communicate with partners, respect each other's feelings, explore suitable relationship patterns

If You're Family or Friends

1. **Open inclusion**: Understand them with open mindset, don't rush to judge or change 2. **Provide support**: Offer sufficient love and support, understand their inner world 3. **Deepen understanding**: Build deeper emotional relationships through communication

Suggestions for General Public

1. **Respect differences**: Respect everyone's sexual orientation and relationship choices 2. **Eliminate prejudice**: Learn about sexual minority groups, eliminate discrimination 3. **Create inclusive environment**: Jointly build diverse, inclusive, harmonious society

Summary

Through understanding "Fourth Love," we see diversity in love and gender patterns. In this colorful world, everyone has the right to pursue their own happiness and unique lifestyle.

**Important perspective**: Can't use single standards to judge and understand human emotions and sexual behavior—inclusion and understanding are most important.

Hope this article helps everyone understand "Fourth Love" more comprehensively and objectively, treating people around with more inclusive mindset!