Is a Kiss Just a Kiss?

Intriguing? Well my daughter asked me about this act of affection with great interest which of course caused my stomach to get twisted in knots. Was there a boy in school who tried to kiss her? Did she like and want to kiss a boy? So I explained with measured calm so not to encourage any ideas stemming in that young brain.

In scanning the room for ideas, I saw the dogs and cat laying comfortably next to one another. A safe starting point. Cats and dogs rub noses, or lick eachother's nose or barely-there lips. Aah the famous kiss by Lady and the Tramp.

Then I treaded lightly to deeper waters and explained the woman's "foot pop" in the old days to signal a sensational kiss and referred to Ann Hathaway in the movie Princess Diaries. Immediately she understood. To myself: What happened to those days where less was more? Remember where the fixated gaze, the intense embrace and the smack of lips sent hormones racing? In this century, I think sociologists have confidently answered the famous line from Casablanca pivoting on the question on whether "a kiss is just a kiss?"

What I didn't tell her is that in today's more liberated society first time connections skip the smooch and dive into lovemaking. My bet is the relation doesn't last beyond the next day. Why? According to scientists and even parts of society's culture, a kiss conotes attachment and intimacy, moreso than raw sex. Hence the reason many hookers do not allow kissing with their clients. It brings emotion into business. So that's why Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman did not allow Richard Gere to kiss her in the beginning when it was business only.

To end her "educational lesson" for the moment, I ended on a historical fact on the famous sayings of a kiss and their history:

There's "Sealed with a Kiss" as pictured above

Butterfly Kisses

The ritual kissing of the pope's ring or the Wimbledon trophy or the Blarney stone.

The therapeutic "kiss a boo-boo"

My favorite, the chivalrous hand kiss

The Hollywood air kisses

I left out the Godfather's kiss--the kiss of death. But I will be armed and ready for that day.

Which is your favorite kiss? LEAVE A COMMENT!