-Thomas Giannattasio for Smashing Magazine
Yes, we all know that when we love our belongings, we truly love our belongings. A lot can be said on the subject on how this came to be true, who is responsible, and whether or not it is a good thing, but the fact remains that it is true. I'm interested in knowing how far consumer culture is going to take this; at the fringes of society there is already evidence of devoted relationships between humans and their belongings.
One such example is that of the 2D relationship, a recent Japanese phenomenon where Otaku and other socially clumsy individuals devote their emotions to anime and manga characters. Toru Honda, an author promoting the movement, encourages these men and women to rebel against the "romantic capitalism" of current japanese society, where love is more attainable by money and fame than by honesty and integrity. Honda continues to claim that “As long as you train your imagination, a 2-D relationship is much more passionate than a 3-D one”. In addition to these Otaku, there are other stories of humans in love with inanimate objects. One woman, Erika La Tour Eifel, has had relationships with an archery bow, a japanese sword, a banister, and finally, the Eifel Tower, who's name she took as her own when she married it. She is part of a group of people who call themselves Objectum-Sexuals, and who are devoted to their intimate relationships with objects. While these examples are all individuals who currently occupy the social spaces and practices on one side of the edge of acceptable behavior in society, it has been said that it is the very fringes of society that define the norm: if the influence of the opposing extreme (that of exclusively interpersonal relationships) is shrinking, then we will see a change in the norm, skewing toward the side of increasing acceptance of relationships with inanimate objects.
It becomes apparent that our relationships with objects are important, and perhaps changing to become more acceptable to show love for our belongings. The power of the information age, especially with younger generations who spend increasingly large amounts of time interacting through digital media, opens up the question of love mediated through objects, in addition to our love for objects. How far will this love go, and to what extent will these relationships replace traditional human relationships? I think the human need for physical contact and reciprocity will limit the strength and frequency of inanimate relationships, but the human mind is in constant evolution...
source (2-D Love)
source (Objectum Sexuality)
