Tuesday, Jan 18, 2011 20:30 ET The science of the smooch Why mash our mouths together? An expert explains the evolutionary reasons for kissing, and why men like more tongue By Tracy Clark-Flory
The science of the smooch
http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2011/01/18/kissing_qa/md_horiz.jpg
Let's be honest, a kiss is never just a kiss. It is the ultimate romantic symbol in our culture -- from Shakespearean tragedies to Gustav Klimt's gilded embrace to the legendary V-J Day smooch in Times Square to those critical words "you may kiss the bride." Sometimes it's instead an expression of affection, elation, loyalty or, on the other hand, disloyalty (see: the kiss of Judas). In cruder manifestations -- take Britney and Madonna's lip smacking, and the tonsil hockey of modern reality television -- it's a way to scandalize. But despite this breadth of meaning, we have very rigid ideas of what types of kissing are appropriate and acceptable -- as Stephanie Seymour recently discovered after photos circulated of an ocean-side embrace with her son. This rich cultural history makes kissing seem so natural as to be fairly unremarkable, which is why many readers will greet the new book "The Science of Kissing: What Our Lips Are Telling Us" with skepticism. How much is there to say about locking lips, anyway? A whole lot, it turns out. Sheril Kirshenbaum, a research scientist at the University of Texas at Austin, gives an engaging overview of the possible evolutionary basis for two people mashing their mouths together -- a practice that is actually pretty odd, once you think about it. There's the way sexy red lipstick plays on our hunter-gatherer past, how swapping spit can help us develop immunity against disease and why it might have first developed as a way to literally sniff out genetically appropriate sexual partners. That's not to mention the tremendous variety in kisses the world over -- from the Eskimo to the French variety -- and that's just in the human world (bonobos, for example, will suck on each other's tongues for as long as 12 minutes). Salon spoke with Kirshenbaum about how our lips are "genital echoes," the natural high of making out with a longtime crush and how technology will change kissing. What is it about lips, why are we so drawn to them? http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2011/01/18/kissing_qa/index.html
The science of the smooch
http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2011/01/18/kissing_qa/md_horiz.jpg
Let's be honest, a kiss is never just a kiss. It is the ultimate romantic symbol in our culture -- from Shakespearean tragedies to Gustav Klimt's gilded embrace to the legendary V-J Day smooch in Times Square to those critical words "you may kiss the bride." Sometimes it's instead an expression of affection, elation, loyalty or, on the other hand, disloyalty (see: the kiss of Judas). In cruder manifestations -- take Britney and Madonna's lip smacking, and the tonsil hockey of modern reality television -- it's a way to scandalize. But despite this breadth of meaning, we have very rigid ideas of what types of kissing are appropriate and acceptable -- as Stephanie Seymour recently discovered after photos circulated of an ocean-side embrace with her son. This rich cultural history makes kissing seem so natural as to be fairly unremarkable, which is why many readers will greet the new book "The Science of Kissing: What Our Lips Are Telling Us" with skepticism. How much is there to say about locking lips, anyway? A whole lot, it turns out. Sheril Kirshenbaum, a research scientist at the University of Texas at Austin, gives an engaging overview of the possible evolutionary basis for two people mashing their mouths together -- a practice that is actually pretty odd, once you think about it. There's the way sexy red lipstick plays on our hunter-gatherer past, how swapping spit can help us develop immunity against disease and why it might have first developed as a way to literally sniff out genetically appropriate sexual partners. That's not to mention the tremendous variety in kisses the world over -- from the Eskimo to the French variety -- and that's just in the human world (bonobos, for example, will suck on each other's tongues for as long as 12 minutes). Salon spoke with Kirshenbaum about how our lips are "genital echoes," the natural high of making out with a longtime crush and how technology will change kissing. What is it about lips, why are we so drawn to them? http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2011/01/18/kissing_qa/index.html
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