INTRODUCTION

WHAT:

I chose the AP Hacking because I already had an idea of what I wanted to make a project about:
(Heteronormative romantic) relationships.

My aim is to research how that system works and how I can hack it. Also, I want to make this hack accessible to people who feel the same way and to get people to start questioning the conventions and standards we put on our emotions.

WHY:

I have always struggled to fit in the normative relationship system and thought that I would never "find happiness", assuming that a relationship would be the ultimate end goal.

As time went by I slowly realized that this system just doesn't work for me. And that that's okay. When I was 29 years old I discovered a philosophy called "relationship anarchy". It hit home right away and I could 100% identify with all that it entails.

"We define romantic relationships as mutually acknowledged on-going voluntary interactions; in comparison to most other peer relationships, romantic ones typically have a distinctive intensity, which is usually marked by expressions of affection and current or anticipated sexual behavior (Collins, 2003) Of course, some behaviors are simultaneously affectionate and sexual in nature."