Puppy love
Encyclopedia
Puppy love is an informal term for feelings of love
or infatuation
felt by young people during childhood
and adolescence
, so-called for its resemblance to the adoring, worshipful affection
that may be felt by a puppy
. 'Simple infatuation is often called a "crush" or "puppy love". It commonly strikes those in the early teens or younger'.
The term is often used in a derogatory fashion, describing emotions which are shallow and transient in comparison to other forms of love such as romantic love: 'calf-love...a sickly, sentimental dream which only a moonstruck fool could have created!'. Sigmund Freud
however was far from underestimating the power of early love; recognised the validity of 'the proverbial durability of first loves: on reviendra toujours à ses premiers amours '.
, but the term can also be used to describe the fondness of a child for an adult, for example, students being attracted to their teachers, their friends' parents, or children to older celebrities: indeed, some consider that in puppy love 'usually the object of such infatuation is some highly idealised person who is some years older - a teacher, an uncle or aunt, a friend of the family, an actor, or rock star' - and typically the sufferer 'greatly moved with emotion...spend[s] much time in daydream
s and wishful fantasies
' about them.
On the positive side, 'Puppy love gives young people a new sense of individualism. For the first time, they love someone outside their family'. Others warn however that 'the old saying may be true: "if you marry on the strength of puppy love, you'll end up leading a dog's life"'.
released the single "Puppy Love
" in 1960, reaching #2 in the Billboard Hot 100
and #33 in the UK singles charts. The lyrics relate the plight of a seventeen-year-old taunted by accusations that feelings for his/her beau are "puppy love", ending with the refrain "How can I ever tell them this is not a puppy love?" The remake by Donny Osmond
peaked at US #3 in 1972.
Country singer Dolly Parton
's first single, released in the 1950s when she was a child, was also called "Puppy Love".
American hip hop artist Brother Ali
has also composed a song about puppy love titled "You Say (Puppy Love)".
Bow Wow released a song called Puppy Love.
River Deep - Mountain High
- 'possibly...the best pop record of all' - also roots love in the image of the puppy following the object of its affections around.
American singer, Barbara Lewis
in January of 1964 released her song entitled "Puppy Love", very different from Paul Anka's, more upbeat and less schmaltzy
wrote short stories 'valuing the intuitiveness of puppy love over mature, reasoned affection...[its] "unreal, undesirous medley of ecstasy and peace"'.
In Anne Bishop
's dark fantasy
trilogy, The Black Jewels, there is an earthier meaning to 'Puppy love. It was a term...used to describe clumsy, eager young males during their first few weeks of sexual experience. For a short time, they would seek to please...[before] the novelty wore off'. However, when the grim anti-heroine Surreal eventually makes a telepathic bond with a young jewelled wolf, she 'found herself smiling. She had ended up in a place where, when someone spoke of puppy love, they were talking about a real puppy'.
Love
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
or infatuation
Infatuation
Infatuation is the state of being completely carried away by unreasoned passion or love: 'expresses the headlong libidinal attraction' of addictive love...
felt by young people during childhood
Childhood
Childhood is the age span ranging from birth to adolescence. In developmental psychology, childhood is divided up into the developmental stages of toddlerhood , early childhood , middle childhood , and adolescence .- Age ranges of childhood :The term childhood is non-specific and can imply a...
and adolescence
Adolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
, so-called for its resemblance to the adoring, worshipful affection
Affection
Affection or fondness is a "disposition or rare state of mind or body" that is often associated with a feeling or type of love. It has given rise to a number of branches of philosophy and psychology concerning: emotion ; disease; influence; state of being ; and state of mind...
that may be felt by a puppy
Puppy
A puppy is a juvenile dog. Some puppies may weigh , while larger ones can weigh up to . All healthy puppies grow quickly after birth. A puppy's coat color may change as the puppy grows older, as is commonly seen in breeds such as the Yorkshire Terrier...
. 'Simple infatuation is often called a "crush" or "puppy love". It commonly strikes those in the early teens or younger'.
The term is often used in a derogatory fashion, describing emotions which are shallow and transient in comparison to other forms of love such as romantic love: 'calf-love...a sickly, sentimental dream which only a moonstruck fool could have created!'. Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
however was far from underestimating the power of early love; recognised the validity of 'the proverbial durability of first loves: on reviendra toujours à ses premiers amours '.
Characteristics
Puppy love is a very widespread experience in the process of growing up, and the person who proudly boasts '"I'm never going to act like a lovesick puppy dog...over some silly girl (or boy)"' may well be riding for a fall. The object of attachment may be a peerPeer group
A peer group is a social group consisting of humans. Peer groups are an informal primary group of people who share a similar or equal status and who are usually of roughly the same age, tended to travel around and interact within the social aggregate Members of a particular peer group often have...
, but the term can also be used to describe the fondness of a child for an adult, for example, students being attracted to their teachers, their friends' parents, or children to older celebrities: indeed, some consider that in puppy love 'usually the object of such infatuation is some highly idealised person who is some years older - a teacher, an uncle or aunt, a friend of the family, an actor, or rock star' - and typically the sufferer 'greatly moved with emotion...spend[s] much time in daydream
Daydream
A daydream is a visionary fantasy, especially one of happy, pleasant thoughts, hopes or ambitions, imagined as coming to pass, and experienced while awake. There are many types of daydreams, and there is no consistent definition amongst psychologists. The general public also uses the term for a...
s and wishful fantasies
Fantasy (psychology)
Fantasy in a psychological sense is broadly used to cover two different senses, conscious and unconscious. In the unconscious sense, it is sometimes spelled "phantasy".-Conscious fantasy:...
' about them.
On the positive side, 'Puppy love gives young people a new sense of individualism. For the first time, they love someone outside their family'. Others warn however that 'the old saying may be true: "if you marry on the strength of puppy love, you'll end up leading a dog's life"'.
Criticism
The objection has been made that 'Terms such as "puppy love" - evoking comfortable images of innocent, loyal attachment - fail almost entirely to capture the confused, anxious and frankly miserable state that the majority of adolescents pass through'.Music
Canadian singer Paul AnkaPaul Anka
Paul Albert Anka, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actor.Anka first became famous as a teen idol in the late 1950s and 1960s with hit songs like "Diana'", "Lonely Boy", and "Put Your Head on My Shoulder"...
released the single "Puppy Love
Puppy Love (song)
"Puppy Love" is a popular song written by Paul Anka in 1960 for Annette Funicello, whom he was dating at the time. Anka's version reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and #33 on the UK singles chart....
" in 1960, reaching #2 in the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and #33 in the UK singles charts. The lyrics relate the plight of a seventeen-year-old taunted by accusations that feelings for his/her beau are "puppy love", ending with the refrain "How can I ever tell them this is not a puppy love?" The remake by Donny Osmond
Donny Osmond
Donald Clark "Donny" Osmond is an American singer, musician, actor, dancer, radio personality, and former teen idol. Osmond has also been a talk and game show host, record producer and author. In the mid 1960s, he and four of his elder brothers gained fame as the Osmond Brothers on the long...
peaked at US #3 in 1972.
Country singer Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
's first single, released in the 1950s when she was a child, was also called "Puppy Love".
American hip hop artist Brother Ali
Brother Ali
Ali Newman , better known by the stage name Brother Ali, is an American hip hop artist signed to Rhymesayers Entertainment.-Personal life:...
has also composed a song about puppy love titled "You Say (Puppy Love)".
Bow Wow released a song called Puppy Love.
River Deep - Mountain High
River Deep - Mountain High
"River Deep – Mountain High" is a 1966 single by Ike & Tina Turner. Considered by producer Phil Spector to be his best work, the single was successful in Europe, peaking at #3 in the United Kingdom, though it flopped on its original release in the United States...
- 'possibly...the best pop record of all' - also roots love in the image of the puppy following the object of its affections around.
American singer, Barbara Lewis
Barbara Lewis
Barbara Lewis , is an American singer and songwriter whose smooth style influenced rhythm and blues.-Career:Lewis was born in Salem, near Ann Arbor, Michigan...
in January of 1964 released her song entitled "Puppy Love", very different from Paul Anka's, more upbeat and less schmaltzy
Fiction
F. Scott FitzgeraldF. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
wrote short stories 'valuing the intuitiveness of puppy love over mature, reasoned affection...[its] "unreal, undesirous medley of ecstasy and peace"'.
In Anne Bishop
Anne Bishop
Anne Bishop is an American fantasy writer. Her most noted work is The Black Jewels trilogy. She lives in upstate New York. She won the Crawford Award in 2000 for the first three novels in her The Black Jewels series: Daughter of the Blood, Heir to the Shadows, and Queen of the Darkness.-The Black...
's dark fantasy
Dark fantasy
Dark fantasy is a term used to describe a fantasy story with a pronounced horror element.-Overview:A strict definition for dark fantasy is difficult to pin down. Gertrude Barrows Bennett has been called "the woman who invented dark fantasy". Both Charles L...
trilogy, The Black Jewels, there is an earthier meaning to 'Puppy love. It was a term...used to describe clumsy, eager young males during their first few weeks of sexual experience. For a short time, they would seek to please...[before] the novelty wore off'. However, when the grim anti-heroine Surreal eventually makes a telepathic bond with a young jewelled wolf, she 'found herself smiling. She had ended up in a place where, when someone spoke of puppy love, they were talking about a real puppy'.