How do you feel about public displays of affection? Before we continue, I should make it clear that I'm not talking about public sex. PDA is considerably lighter, from holding hands to grabbing your partner's butt. It usually occurs with your pants on (provided you don't live in a nudist colony).
I come to ask this question after encountering a young heterosexual couple holding one another on the train. The guy was kissing and nuzzling his girlfriend's neck, and I became inexplicably infuriated by this. I mean, there I was minding my business, and they feel a need to express their love all up in my face. The nerve of them!
And then I stopped to think how hypocritical I was being. As wrong as it is, I totally would have been cheering for that couple if they had been two men or two women. I'd say in my head, "Work it out! I admire your courage among a public who may not embrace your affection." Instead, I was left thinking, "How could you publicly flaunt your relationship in a world where everyone doesn't have that right?"
I've been there too. When I first started dating my ex-boyfriend, he'd grab my hand and hold it. This wasn't something I was accustomed to, so I immediately withdrew myself. He accused me of having a bout of internalized homophobia. Since I wasn't having that sort of criticism, I held his hand to prove him wrong. Suddenly, I felt empowered. Hand-holding became more exciting than handjobs, because I felt like I was making a social and political statement about who I loved.
Considering all the stuff I blabbed about, it isn't likely that the answer to this question is a simple "hot" or "not". It's obviously more complicated than that. Hopefully, this post will open up a discussion on how you feel about engaging in PDA and how you feel when others do so. Discuss!
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