by Kay Curry
Northwest Asia Weekly
Love is blind. Love is Blind Season 2 Deepti Vempati. (Image credit: Netflix)
“Love is Blind” is a Netflix series that asks the question: “Do you have to see someone to love them?” The answer is “no” — but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be smooth sailing. Yes, you can sit and talk in a “pod” and fall in love with someone through a door. But once you meet and spend time together, will you continue to love each other? The series, which just finished its second season, guides viewers through the process from a hopeful beginning to the altar.
On March 8, social audio app Clubhouse hosted two candidates for season 2: Natalie Mina Lee and Deepti Vempati. Now that the season is over, vowed to say or not, and the cast reunited, on March 4, clubhouse host Naima Cochrane wondered, what’s it like?
Venpati and Lee stand out on the show due to their decision to say “no” at the altar. On International Women’s Day, the clubhouse virtual event centers on just two women and their experiences. Match.com relationship expert Helen Fisher also talks about the chemistry of love and what it takes to have a relationship.
Vempati and Lee were praised for their strength and ultimately choosing what was healthiest for them. They talked about previous dating experiences and their “Love Is Blind” relationships with Abhishek Chatterjee “Shake” and Shayne Jansen respectively. Race appeared. The show is relatively diverse – not in terms of sexual preferences (it’s heterosexual male/female) – but the “rules” of “love is blind” mean that participants shouldn’t ask each other what they look like, regardless of skin color, Or, as it appears a lot, the weight.
However, participants got around the frame by asking questions like what Chatterjee did to Vempati: “Can I lift you on my shoulders?” Also, it’s inevitable that couples talk about their backgrounds, so it’s clear that Vempati of Indian ancestry, while Lee is of Korean ancestry.
Does that matter? It absolutely did. Both Vempati and Chatterjee admitted to never dating in their race or ethnicity prior to the show. The pair also admitted that it felt good to do so. “I’ve actually only dated two men who just happened to be white,” Vempati said. “It was a real pleasure to experience with an Indian, because our language and culture are our foundation, so listening to music in Hindi is great… We can connect on a deeper level. I Never thought, “I’ll never date an Indian man”, but it never… happened to me… I was pleasantly surprised to find all these things in common. In the future, I won’t deny any race… I don’t want to lock myself in a box in any way.”
While the game didn’t come up as much for Lee and Jensen, Lee told the clubhouse it must have been a problem for her in the past.
“I really struggle with dating apps…I feel like men will see an Asian woman and they will judge based on that. I know there is a stereotype of Asian women and I hate myself falling into that box… “She has to be docile or otaku, or quieter because she’s Asian. “These are stereotypes. Can [date] It’s so refreshing to me not to have them see what I look like because…they don’t make any judgments based on my race or how I dress. “
Does race matter to the success or failure of a relationship? Not so much. The couple just found that they were incompatible. Is love blind? possible. But that’s not everything. In Season 2, there were many times when participants admitted that there was love, but “it wasn’t enough.” Fisher, who has studied the “brain circuit of romantic love,” explained, “It can be triggered immediately, and you don’t have to see the person…the relationship goes on and on, they either escalate or they go down…you give a lot of time. … Figure out who the other person is, and the further you go into a relationship, the less important looks are—but it’s a pretty big moment…the moment when they actually see those boys. Looks matter.”
Despite the emotional connection, Chatterjee struggled with his physical attraction to Vempati after his first meeting with Vempati. Throughout the process, he reasonably explained that arranged marriages were common in his culture, and that perhaps he and Vempati could nurture the physical part of their relationship. Although both Vempati and Chatterjee’s parents are from traditional backgrounds, they did not expect their children to be like this. All the parents on the show — even Lee’s parents, who didn’t know “The Experiment” until the day their daughter introduced them to Jensen — are supportive and want their kids to be happy.
Love is blind. Love is Blind’s Natalie Lee in season two. (Image credit: Netflix)
“My dad and mom… always said, ‘You don’t have to get married. You don’t need a man. As long as you’re this independent woman and you’re happy, you don’t need to get married,'” Lee shared.
“For me, getting married is a little bit stressful,” admits Vempati. “I’m 31 now. It’s been a talking point in my family since I graduated from college. “When are you going to get married?” ” “Do we need to find you a boy?” “But as Natalie said, I don’t need someone to be independent…My favorite quote is, ‘Spoil me with loyalty. I can finance myself.'”
Venpati and Lee chose happiness for themselves, even though society doesn’t always encourage women to do so. It may not be romantic happiness yet – but it will come.
“People long for love. They live for love. They die for love and they die for love. [It’s] One of the most powerful brain systems you all play with,” Fisher said. She added: “This program is very unusual because it captures real people in real time doing one of the most important things in our lives. “
Kay can reach info@nwasianweekly.com.
