It’s something I’ve been wondering ever since that awkward kiss from hell in the movie, “Spiderman.” It’s a rather strange practice, if you give it some thought. And, well, you guys are strange. I thought you might know something about the origins of the kiss.
Yes, why do we like to press our lips to one end of another person’s 7 meter length of intestine which has an anus at the other end? (Makes kissing sound so romantic, doesn’t it?)
I read somewhere (I know, I know, “Cite!” I think it was in “The Naked Ape” by Desmond Morris) that the gesture of kissing is maybe derived from the habit of mother mammals of pre-chewing food for their young. Preparing the food this way is seen as a loving gesture, which is mimicked in adulthood with a kiss.
Ah, found a quote to back this up:
Suck Face? Got to love it.
Because jumping straight for the clitoris is poor form.
And I should have more awkward kisses from hell.
More information available here.
Or here also. If fact, there are many such references / threads if you run a search.
Welcome to the SDMB, BTW.
Much as I like Morris’ theories and dislike Claude Levi-Strauss’, I think Levi-Strauss gets the credit for this one. If I’m not mistaken, it’s in the appropriately-named The Origin of Table Manners
And, yes, he suggests the passing of chewed food as the origin.
I’m not entirely happy with this explanation, but it’s the best I’ve heard.
In A.K. Dewdney’s book The Planiverse (a sf book about a two-dimensional universe) the 2-D creatures “kiss” by rubbing their gills together.
Sheesh. Does there have to be a scientific answer for everything?
How about 'cause it feels soooo good?
