Everyone loves romance. Well, almost everyone. Everyone loves the giggling, the laughing, the butterflies, the hugs and kisses, the gaslighting, the abuse, the… Wait, what? 

So many of the movies out today have tons of romance storylines. A lot of them portray what experts would call toxic relationships. 

Toxic relationships can be defined in many ways, as some might say that they’re an obsessive relationship, some say it’s a physically abusive relationship, and others say it’s a mentally abusive relationship. 

The point is that no matter how you define it, the toxic relationship is still bad and its portrayal in the media only glorifies and normalizes it. Tons of teens and children are seeing more and more of these relationships in the media, whether they are portrayed in a movie, a TV show, or in the lives of influencers. The glorification of toxic relationships is teaching these kids that it’s ok for these relationships to happen because no one has taught them otherwise. And it’s not even strictly romantic relationships that you see in this portrayal, it’s platonic, family, and professional relationships. 

One example of a toxic relationship in a movie is Ariel and Eric from “The Little Mermaid.” Both characters claim that they’re in love after Ariel saves Eric’s life, but when they actually meet, Ariel cannot talk to him because her voice was taken away. When another woman shows up, however, Eric just leaves Ariel with no explanation. Even though they do end up together, the start of their relationship was very toxic. A friendship that can be described as toxic is between Janis and Damien to Cady in “Mean Girls.” They use her for their own personal vendetta and get mad when she finally starts fitting in and understanding a world that she didn’t understand when the movie started. A third relationship that can be considered toxic is between Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore. This can be considered toxic because Dumbledore used Harry for his own personal gains and didn’t even tell Harry about any of it. When Harry found out he was being used, he still continued on with his mission, even though it probably meant he was going to die.

Overall some of our favorite relationships you see portrayed are actually very toxic and they teach us that these relationships are ok when in reality they’re not. We should stop glamorizing these relationships and start being more aware of what is a toxic relationship and what isn’t.