Some anthropologists' once thought that romance was a Western idea, developed in the Middle Ages.' Non-Western societies, they thought, were too occupied with social and
family relationships for romance. Today, scientists 25 Tl believe that romance has existed in human brains Be in all societies since prehistorica times. In one study, for example, men and women from Europe, Japan, and the Philippines were asked to
fill out a survey to measure their experiences of passionate love. All three groups said that they felt passion with the same extreme intensity. But though romantic love may be universal, its cultural expression is not. To the Fulbe people
of northern Cameroon, men who spend too much time with their wives are insulted and looked down on. Those who fall deeply in love are thought to have fallen under a dangerous spell. For the Fulbe, to be controlled by love is 20 seen as shameful