There are those who study kissing, and they explain how most people turn their head to the right when kissing, how Eskimos and Polynesians rub their noses together to kiss, and how people who live in trendy places like St.Tropez kiss each other on each cheek upon greeting. Experts even note that in Hollywood, where acting has influenced tradition, these kisses on the cheek don’t actually land, but are instead “air kisses”, meant to imitate intimacy without actually practicing it.
In traditional Asian cultures like Japan, for instance, kissing has sometimes been replaced by a courteous bow, because this is a sign of polite affection. Throughout ancient history, those who bowed in public reserved their actual kisses for times of complete privacy, unlike today when people meeting in airports, at the disco, or on a park bench seem to not only kiss but take things even further, without regard for gawking strangers.
So Good it Must Be Illegal!
But in conservative places, like for instance the USA, kissing has even been made illegal. One state has a law against kissing strangers, one has a law against "habitually kissing", and one is reported to have a law against kissing on Sunday. Of course these ordinances against smooching were created during the 18th Century Puritanical era, and most are not generally enforced, and if they ever made it into court, they would probably be kissed good-bye for good.
I can’t speak in French, I only know how to kiss in it.
There are others who don’t know any of the anthropological or sociological explanation for kissing, and who couldn’t give a fig what some scientist or historian says about the subject. These folks, who are in the majority, just want to do it and do it right. As one friend of ours – who has no aptitude for foreign languages – is fond of saying “I can’t speak in French, I only know how to kiss in it.”
Most women complain that men who are “bad kissers” make three basic mistakes. They kiss too hard, suffocating their partner or making her feel that she is going to be crushed; they kiss too hurriedly, (which usually indicates that will do other affectionate things too hurriedly); and last but most of all, they kiss too sloppy.
Nobody likes a sloppy kiss, unless it is from a pet sheep dog. Kisses are not meant to drown us in saliva, only in affection. The way to avoid a wet, sloppy, drenching, and ultimately repugnant kiss is to pay attention to the other two warnings about smothering and rushing.
