A kiss is the touching of one person's lips to another place, which is used as an expression of affection, respect, greeting, farewell, good luck, romantic affection or sexual desire. The word comes from Old English cyssan "to kiss", in turn from coss "a kiss".
Biology and evolution
Anthropologists have not reached a conclusion as to whether kissing is learned or a behavior from instinct. It may be related to grooming behavior also seen between other animals, or arising as a result of mothers premasticating food for their children.[1]
Kissing allows prospective mates to taste and smell each other's pheromones for biological compatibility. Women are subconsciously more attracted to men whose major histocompatibility complex portion of their genome is different from their own, leading to offspring with resistance to a greater number of diseases due to heterosis, and thus having a better chance of survival.[2] [3] [4]
Non-human primates also exhibit kissing behavior.[5] Dogs, cats, birds and other animals display licking and grooming behavior among themselves, but also towards humans or other species. This is sometimes interpreted by observers as a type of kissing.
The physiology of kissing
Kissing is a complex behavior that requires significant muscular coordination; a total of thirty-four facial muscles and 112 postural muscles are used during a kiss.[6][7] The most important muscle involved is the orbicularis oris muscle, which is used to pucker the lips and informally known as the kissing muscle.[citation needed] In the case of the French kiss, the tongue is also an important part. Lips have many nerve endings so they are sensitive to touch and bite.[8]
Disease transmission
Diseases which may be transmitted through kissing include mononucleosis, allergic reactions to nuts and drugs and herpes, when the infectious virus is present in saliva. Research indicates that contraction of HIV via kissing is extremely unlikely, although a woman has been infected with HIV by kissing in 1997; both the woman and infected man had gum disease (so transmission was through the man's blood, not saliva).[9]
Health benefits
Affection in general has stress-reducing effects. Kissing in particular has been studied in a controlled experiment: increasing the frequency of kissing in marital and cohabiting relationships was found to result in a reduction of perceived stress, an increase in relationship satisfaction, and a lowering of cholesterol levels.[10]
Kissing in Western culture
In modern Western culture, kissing is most commonly an expression of affection.[11] Between people of close acquaintance, a reciprocal kiss often is offered as a greeting or farewell.[12] This kind of kiss is typically made by brief contact of puckered lips to the skin of the cheek or no contact at all, and merely performed in the air near the cheek with the cheeks touching.[13] People may kiss children on the forehead to comfort them or the cheek to show affection, and vice versa.
As an expression of romantic affection or sexual desire in Western culture, kissing involves two people pressing their lips together with an intensity of sexual feeling. A couple may open their mouths, suck on each others lips or move their tongues into each others' mouths (see French kiss).
In Slavic cultures until recent times, kissing between two men on the lips as a greeting or a farewell was not uncommon and not considered sexual.[citation needed] Symbolic kissing is frequent in Western cultures. A kiss can be "blown" to another by kissing the fingertips and then blowing the fingertips, pointing them in the direction of the recipient. This is used to convey affection, usually when parting or when the partners are physically distant but can view each other. Blown kisses are also used when a person wishes to convey affection to a large crowd or audience. The term flying kiss is used in India to describe a blown kiss. In written correspondence a kiss has been represented by the letter 'X' since at least 1763.[14] A stage or screen kiss may be performed by actually kissing, or faked by using the thumbs as a barrier for the lips and turning so the audience is unable to fully see the act.
In some Western cultures it is considered good luck to kiss someone on Christmas or on New Year's Eve, especially beneath a sprig of mistletoe.
Kissing in non-Western cultures
Some literatures suggest that a non-trivial percentage of humanity does not kiss.[15]
In Sub Saharan African, Asiatic, Polynesian and possibly in some Native American cultures, kissing was relatively unimportant until European and Western colonization.[16][17]
With the Andamanese, kissing was only used as a sign of affection towards children and had no sexual undertones.[18]
Kissing in traditional Islamic cultures is not accepted between two members of the opposite sex who are not married or closely related by blood or marriage. More liberal-minded societies, such as that of Lebanon or Egypt, allow such kisses as greetings; more secular-minded individuals living in more traditional societies may have a similar view. Kisses on the cheek are a very common form of greeting among members of the same sex in most Islamic countries, following the Mediterranean pattern.
Kissing in religion
- Muslims may kiss the Black Stone during Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca).
- In Ancient Rome and some modern Pagan beliefs, worshipers when passing the statue or image of a god or goddess will kiss their hand and wave it towards the deity (adoration).
- In the gospels of Matthew and Mark (Luke and John omit this) Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss—an instance of a kiss intertwined with betrayal. This is the basis of the term 'the kiss of Judas'
- The holy kiss or kiss of peace is a traditional part of most Christian liturgies, though usually replaced with an embrace or handshake today in Western cultures
- The Pope will kiss the ground on arrival to a new country.
- Visitors to the Pope traditionally kiss his foot. (The ring of a cardinal or bishop, hand of a priest.)
- Jews will kiss the Western wall of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, and other religious articles during prayer such as the Torah, usually by touching their hand, Tallis, or Siddur (prayerbook) to the Torah and then kissing it. Jewish law prohibits kissing members of the opposite sex, except for certain close relatives. See Negiah.
- Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Christians often kiss the icons around the church as entering, they will also kiss the cross and / or the priests hand in certain other customs in the Church, such as confession or receiving a blessing.
- Catholics will kiss rosary beads as a part of prayer, or kiss their hand after making the sign of the cross. It is also common to kiss the wounds on a crucifix, or any other image of Christ's Passion.
- Hindus sometimes kiss the ground of a temple.
- Local lore in Ireland suggests that kissing the Blarney Stone leads to good luck.
See also
References
- ^ Premastication - Langmaker
- ^ Santos, PS (2005). "New evidence that the MHC influences odor perception in humans: a study with 58 Southern Brazilian students". Hormones & Behavior. 47: 384–388. doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2004.11.005.
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suggested) (help) - ^ Wedekind, C. (1995). "MHC-dependent mate preferences in humans". Proceedings: Biological Sciences. 260 (1359): 245–249. doi:10.1098/rspb.1995.0087.
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suggested) (help) - ^ Fiore, Kristina (October 2, 2006). "Why do humans kiss?". Scienceline.
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(help) - ^ "How animals kiss and make up". BBC News. October 13, 2003.
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(help) - ^ Adrienne Blue (1996-06-01). "The kiss". The Independent (London). Retrieved 2008-08-29.
- ^ Roger Highfield (2006-10-17). "Seal with..146 muscles". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-08-29.
- ^ "The mystery of the kiss". Los Angeles Times. 2008-02-04.
- ^ Case of H.I.V. Transmission Is First to Be Linked to Kiss - New York Times
- ^ Kory Floyd, Justin P. Boren, Annegret F. Hannawa, Colin Hesse, Breanna McEwan, Alice E. Veksler, "Kissing in Marital and Cohabiting Relationships: Effects on Blood Lipids, Stress, and Relationship Satisfaction", Western Journal of Communication, Vol. 73, No. 2, Apr. 2009, pp. 113 - 133.
- ^ Larry James (2008-03-04). "The Romantic Kiss". The Zambian Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-08-29.
- ^ "Better Not Miss the Buss". The New York Times. 2006-04-06. Retrieved 2008-08-29.
- ^ Marie Sophie Hahnsson. "Cheek Kissing". University of Oslo. Retrieved 2008-08-29.
- ^ "Oxford English Dictionary - X". Oxford University press. 1999. Retrieved 2007-02-01.
- ^ Affairs of the Lips: Why We Kiss: Scientific American
- ^ Keith Thomas (2005-06-11). "Put your sweet lips..." The Times. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
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(help) - ^ Marvin K. Opler, "Cross-cultural aspects of kissing", Medical Aspects of Human Sexuality, Vol. 3, No. 2, Feb. 1969, pp. 11, 14, 17, 20-21]
- ^ Chapter: 9: A Traditional Society
External links
- Put your sweet lips... (A history of the kiss), Keith Thomas, The Times, June 11, 2005
- The Kiss of Life, Joshua Foer, New York Times, February 14, 2006
- How Kissing Works, History and Anatomy of the Kiss, Tracy V. Wilson, Howstuffworks
- Kiss in the Street, Etienne Martin, StreetArt
- Scientific American Affairs of the Lips: Why We Kiss
- Famous Kisses From Judas to Spider-Man