Kiss

For other uses, see Kiss (disambiguation).

For the American rock band, see Kiss (band).

The Kiss by Francesco Hayez, 19th century.

A kiss (from Old English cyssan "to kiss," in turn from coss "a kiss.") is the touching with the lips. The scientific name for kissing is osculation.

Biology and Evolution

Kissing Black-tailed Prairie Dogs

Anthropologists have not reached a consensus as to whether kissing is a learned or an instinctive behavior. It may be related to grooming behavior also seen between other animals, or arising as a result of mothers premasticating food for their children. Kissing allows prospective mates to smell and taste 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, and thus having a better chance of survival. This explains why couples are more likely to bond if they have the right "chemistry". Also, a study by researchers at University at Albany found that women use kissing as a tool to find the right father for their children and to judge men exclusively on the quality of the first kiss that they share. Many other non-human primates also exhibit kissing behaviour.

Kissing as affection

File:A romantic kiss.jpg

A couple kiss for a wedding photo.

In modern Western culture, kissing is most commonly an expression of affection. This is unlike many parts of the world where kissing is viewed as a means of respecting others.

In Middle Eastern countries till recent times, kissing was only considered proper when between two men, two women, or parents kissing their children. Kissing was not looked upon as a sexual expression in the Middle East.

In Asian, African, Native American and Polynesian cultures, kissing was unknown till introduced by European and Western influence.

In Eastern European countries till recent times, kissing between two men on the lips as a greeting or a farewell was as normal as the modern Western handshake. This custom has nearly died out due to Western influence. In the past, kissing wasn't considered sexual in Slavic and Muslim countries.

Between people of close acquaintance, a kiss, often reciprocal, is offered as a greeting or farewell. 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. Such kissing is a common greeting in European and Latin American countries between a man and a woman or between two women but also by two men in parts of Europe, the Middle East and Latin America, such as Argentina. However, in most Western societies, it is often more acceptable for women to kiss each other than men kissing each other. People sometimes kiss children to comfort them or show affection, and vice versa. This usually takes place on the forehead or cheek.

As an expression of romantic affection or sexual desire, kissing involves two people pressing their lips together, usually with much more intensity, and for a considerably longer period of time. In more passionate kissing couples may open their mouths, suck on each other's lips, or move their tongues into each others' mouths (see French kiss). Sexual kissing may also involve one person kissing another on various parts of the body (see Foreplay).

Symbolic kissing

A kiss can be "blown" using actions of the hand and the mouth. One person kisses their fingers and then pretends to blow it to the other person. 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.

In written correspondence a kiss has been represented by the letter 'X' since at least 1763.

Asymmetry in kissing

The Kiss by Gustav Klimt.

To avoid a clash of noses while kissing, couples often turn their faces slightly to one side, thereby orienting their heads at an angle with respect to each other. To make this position more comfortable, one member of the couple may support the other, perhaps across the lap or in an embrace—thus combining hugging with kissing. The person supporting the other may tend to take the more active role in the kiss. Writing in Nature, psychologist Onur Güntürkün observed couples kissing in public places such as airports and parks; his research demonstrated that by a 2:1 ratio the direction of turn is more frequently to the right than to the left. Güntürkün ascribed this asymmetry to a neonatal right-side preference.

The anatomy of kissing

Kissing is a complex behavior that requires significant muscular coordination; in fact, a total of twenty muscles working cooperatively. The most important muscle involved is the orbicularis oris muscle, which is used to pucker the lips and informally known as the kissing muscle. The tongue can also be an important part of the kiss.

Screen kiss

A screen kiss is one portrayed in a film (the equivalent act in a play is known as a stage kiss). The plot of a film or play may involve characters falling in love with each other, but the actors playing this role might not have any personal relationship with each other whatsoever.

Disease transmission

Kissing can result in the transmission of diseases. These diseases include mononucleosis and herpes. This is due to the contact of bodily fluid in the form of saliva, and less commonly through blood contact when open sores are present. It is possible that AIDS may be transmitted through open-mouthed kissing, although little research has been conducted concerning this concept.

Notable kisses

In history

• At the Diocleia festival at Megara in honour of Diocles, lover of Philolaus, a kissing contest was held in which boys would kiss a male judge, who awarded a laurel wreath to the boy he deemed the best kisser.
• In the gospels, Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss on the cheek—a subversive use of the kiss.
• The Romans distinguished three types of kiss: osculum, a friendship kiss on the cheek; basium, a kiss of affection on the lips; and suavium (also known as savium), a lovers' deep kiss.
• Lord Nelson, British naval commander, famously requested "Kiss me, Hardy", as he lay dying (although they were not, as often reported, his last words).

In Folklore

• In the fairytale "Sleeping Beauty" and the Greek myth of Pygmalion and Galatea, a romantic kiss is used by a male to awaken or breathe life into a female.
• In American retellings of the fairytale "Frog Prince," it is the male who is transformed from frog to man by a kiss.

In art

Auguste Rodin's The Kiss.

• Works entitled The Kiss were painted by Gustav Klimt, Francesco Hayez and Edvard Munch.
• Auguste Rodin created the sculpture The Kiss (Le Baiser).
• Andy Warhol made an avant-garde film, the kiss, closeups of couples kissing.
• The French photographer Robert Doisneau shot a couple kissing by the Hotel de Ville (Paris) in 1950. The photo, later called "The Kiss," is now considered a classic, a fact one couple alleging to be the subjects of the photo attempted to exploit in their unsuccessful 1990s lawsuit against the photographer.
• Tanya Chalkin's Kiss, a black-and-white photo of two young women embracing, has become something of a pop culture icon in recent years.

In film

• The Kiss, an 1896 short film, features the first known screen kiss, a forty-seven second recreation of a stage kiss from the musical The Widow Jones. The movie was considered scandalous at the time of its release but has since entered film history as one of the most memorable early films. [citation needed]
• The Kid is a 1921 film, in which a tramp, Charlie Chaplin, kisses a child, Jackie Coogan. This scene is considered to be the first in film history in which a man kisses a boy on the mouth. [citation needed]
• In the 1955 film Lady and the Tramp, the canine characters Lady and Tramp unexpectedly kiss while simultaneously eating a spaghetti noodle from opposite ends, their lips meeting in the middle. Homages to and parodies of this scene have appeared in several movies, including Hot Shots! Part Deux.
• In The Princess Bride, the narrator comments on Westley and Buttercup's kiss: "Since the invention of the kiss, there have been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind."
• In the 1989 animated disney film, The Little Mermaid, Sebastian sings "Kiss the Girl" to Ariel and Prince Eric in an attempt to break the spell that was cast upon her which prevented her from speaking.
• In The Godfather: Part II, Michael Corleone gives, in Havana, an unnaturally aggressive kiss on the mouth to his brother Fredo, effectively telling him that he is disowned from the family because he betrayed its interests. Michael has Fredo killed. This kiss has been called by mafia movie fans as "the kiss of death."
• In the first Spider-Man film, Mary-Jane Watson kisses her hero as he is suspended upside down from a web.
• In the Italian movie Cinema Paradiso, Salavote watches a clip reel of censored movie kisses that he inherited from his friend, the projectionist Alfredo.
• During a scene in the 1997 film Titanic, Rose DeWitt Bukater(Kate Winslet), is kissed by Jack Dawson (Leonardo Dicaprio) while they are standing at the bow of the Titanic.
• In "The Notebook", Allie (Rachel McAdams) and Noah (Ryan Gosling) share a romantic kiss in the pouring rain
• A look at the famous film kisses in cinema history. Famous Film Kisses

In theatre

• In William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, Romeo first greets Juliet with an exchange of metaphors stating that he wants to kiss her. Romeo starts by comparing Juliet to a shrine that his "unworthiest hands" are defiling by touching, and his lips to "two blushing pilgrims" who want to make it up to her. Juliet retorts that Romeo, as a pilgrim, should not degrade his hands as "hand-to-hand is holy palmers kiss," meaning they Juliet (saint) and Romeo (pilgrim) can "kiss" hand to hand. Romeo asks why pilgrims and saints can't use their lips, and Juliet responds that saints must use them in prayer. Romeo then gets his kisses by saying that their lips should do what praying hands do (come together). Juliet gives in, but playing the saint, she will not move.

In music

• The Turkish singer Tarkan's 1997 hit song "Şımarık" has a chorus that ends with two kiss sounds. An English cover version performed by Stella Soleil (and then later covered more successfully by Australian Holly Valance) is entitled "Kiss Kiss."
• The Billy Idol-fronted band Generation X made a song called "Kiss Me Deadly"
• The Violent Femmes recorded a song called "Kiss Off"
• KISS is an American rock band from New York whose name pays homage to The New York Dolls song Looking for a Kiss.
• "This Kiss" was the first single off of American country singer Faith Hill's 1998 Faith album.
• The singer Prince released a song called "Kiss", that was later covered by Tom Jones.
• The Cure released their album "Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me" in 1987.
• Kiss Me is a song recorded by Sixpence None the Richer and released on the 1997 album Sixpence None the Richer. It reached number two on the U.S. Hot 100 and number four on the Canadian Singles Chart, making it the group's highest-charting single across the world.
• "Kiss Me When I Cry" by NELSON
• "The World's a Mess, It's in My Kiss" by X
• "Kiss Yourself Goodbye" by the All-American Rejects
• "Kiss Me Goodbye" by Angela Aki was used in the Playstation 2 RPG Final Fantasy XII
• "Kiss (Korean group) was a Korean girl group that disbanded in 2002 after one year
• "Amazing Kiss" is a song by Korean singer BoA
• "Kiss" and "Kiss the Future" are songs by Japanese singer Kotoko
• "Something 'bout the Kiss" is a Japanese song by Namie Amuro
• "One Kiss" by Sweetbox
• "Kiss" was an instrumental piece composed by Yuki Kajiura for the anime .hack//SIGN
• "First Kiss" by Tom Waits
• "The Kiss (skit)" by Eminem (in the album The Eminem Show)
• "I'm In Heaven (When You Kiss Me)" by A Touch of Class
• "Kiss Kiss" by Chris Brown
• "Kiss" is a song by the nu-metal band Korn from their Untitled album.
• "Long Kiss Goodnight" is a song on the rap album Life After Death by The Notorious B.I.G.

In photography

File:Vj day kiss.jpg

The famous Life Magazine photograph taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt

• Alfred Eisenstaedt's 1945 LIFE magazine photograph of a sailor stamping a masterly kiss on a nurse in New York City's Times Square was taken Aug. 14, 1945, V-J Day. This photo is considered one of Times Square's most iconic photographs. In 2007, a Houston forensics expert verified the identity of the sailor as Glenn McDuffie, who had claimed to be the individual in the photo for many years.

World Records

• The longest recorded kiss took place in New York City on December 5, 2001, between Louisa Almedovar and Rich Langley. It lasted 30 hours, 59 minutes and 27 seconds.
• The world record for the largest group kiss was set on 22nd July 2007 in Weston-super-Mare at Channel 4's T4 on the Beach. More than 32,000 people kissed for 20 seconds, smashing the previous record set in France by over 30,000 people. [citation needed]
• On September 1, 2007, 6980 couples kissed for 10 seconds in Tuzla, Bosnia erasing the previous Guinness World kissing Records of the Philippines and Hungary (for synchronised osculation in 2004 with 5327 Filipino couples, overtaken by Hungary in 2005 with 5875 couples; Filipinos came back in February this year with 6124 couples but the Hungarians responded in June with 6613 couples). The record now awaits official certification.
• The longest onscreen kiss was performed by Gregory Smith and Stephanie Sherrin in the 2005 film Kids in America and lasted "just over six minutes."

See also

• Air kiss
• Cheek kissing
• Hand Kissing
• French kiss
• Eskimo kiss
• Holy kiss
• Hand shaking
• Spin the bottle
• Hugs and Kisses
• Making out
• The kiss of Judas
• Kissing Traditions
• Hug