* WARNING *
*May contain images offensive to some people *
I had a funny conversation with friends last night. They are a married couple and were complaining about public displays of affection – PDA. When they were going on holiday last summer, a young couple in front of them were doing some heavy snogging – what my friends regard as ‘heavy snogging’ compared to me, or anyone else is all relative.
ME: “Was it open-mouthed?”
HIM: “Yes!”
ME: “Tongues?”
HER: “Ew, yes. It was gross!”
I laughed, maybe they were very much in love, or going on honeymoon, I suggested. Whatever, I thought my friends’ outrage funny. So I posed a series of questions – How much PDA is too much? And here, I am not talking about the rare instances when a couple feel they have to go into the realms of extreme – like this couple –
Holding hands – Fine, no problem.
Arms around each other – Okay.
Kissing on the cheek – Fine.
Kissing on the lips – Hmm, no.
Squeezing a partners buttocks – No!
Full on deep kissing – Absolutely not!
HIS addendum was; if the show of affection was politically motivated – ie: two gay men/women at a Gay Pride event, or similar, did this, then he could accept that it was done with purpose. But stepping out of a store onto the street to find a couple enjoying a grope and a bit of mouth action – No Thank You!
I told them they were too English. We do have a reputation for being rather restrained and ‘stiff upper lipped’. And apart from when we get steaming drunk and everyone is a friend, we tend to be reserved about emotions – especially affectionate ones!
Why do we feel uncomfortable when we see a couple engaged in PDA? As long as they aren’t getting naked and having full on intercourse or doing heavy petting in the park, then shouldn’t we be more accepting? Is it about etiquette and good manners? Does the sight of an older couple kissing spark revulsion more than if it were a young couple – or vice-versa?
Does the public space make a difference? I asked my anti-PDA friends, what if there is a couple kissing deeply under a tree in a moonlit Paris? That was fine apparently. What about Hyde Park? No! One of my friends is a high school teacher and occasionally encounters a couple of students kissing in the corridor, when she tells them to stop and they query her, her response is great: “Would you want to see Mr and Mrs Finnegan( a married couple) kissing around the school?” They would not, is the reply – so don’t you do it!
I know there are countries around the world where PDA are taboo; if not illegal. I read comments from the British Middle Classes calling PDA ‘repellent’ and ‘ghastly’. I think they/we need to get over ourselves. But I wondered where in the UK were we most and least demonstrative with affection. Should public displays of affection be banned? Some people think so!
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Londoners appear to dislike it the most. Nottingham likes a bit of public romance. Manchester, Leeds and Cardiff like a street smooch. I couldn’t find any solid statistics – though I have to admit I didn’t search that hard – but I did find lots of articles calling for less shows of affection in the UK; even light kissing.
Personally, I don’t care if it’s ‘showing off’, or over the top. If a couple feel the urge to express their romantic inclinations then I think it’s lovely. Maybe if more people were snogging and squeezing each others bums and being affectionate, we wouldn’t have all the discourse, wars and aggression and so forth. Of course there need to be some boundaries, but so long as bedroom activities aren’t in public, then what’s the harm?
Next time you balk at PDA, ask yourself two questions –
1.Would you rather they were fighting?
2. Aren’t you just a teensy bit jealous?!
https://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/157803/Should-kissing-in-public-places-be-banned
http://www.freepressjournal.in/weekend/kissing-in-public-kerala-triggers-a-debate-for-change/501941
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_display_of_affection
*NB: update: Sunday 22nd May 2022 – the image originally posted has been removed due to it having been originally used in a defamation issue. I have just been informed of this. Apologies to those concerned.
Flailing Through Life 