Lip Locked
Jessie WhitfieldIssue date: 7/10/08 Section: Sex
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In a recently published article, Gordon G. Gallup Jr., Susan M. Hughes and Marissa A. Harrison revealed that many college students who find themselves once attracted to someone discover after they kiss them that they are no longer interested. "In other words," said Gallup to ScienceDaily.com, "While many forces lead two people to connect romantically, the kiss, particularly the first kiss, can be a deal breaker."
Arizona State University alumna Kathy Anderson agrees. "A kiss is a big indicator of chemistry. I kiss to show how I feel about a guy and to see how the chemistry is between us. Everything can be going great, but if the kissing sucks, in my experience, it usually indicates a letdown in the bed as well," she said. "I think kissing indicates closeness and makes sex more intimate, so sex without kissing is pretty lifeless in my opinion."
Turns out, Anderson isn't alone. The study found that most women placed more emphasis on kissing during sex than men and used a kiss to establish or monitor the status of their relationship.
The differences continued; many men said they would be happy to have sex without kissing and that they would be willing to have sex with a bad kisser. The majority of women, however, said a bad kisser was a major turn-off, they could not have sex without kissing and insisted on kissing before, during and after intercourse.
Also, males were more likely than females to "slip the tongue" or initiate open mouth kissing, which the researchers suggested was because the exchange of saliva during kissing may have a biological effect on the woman. Male saliva contains testosterone, which can affect the libido.
According to the UAlbany study, the act of kissing between sexual or romantic partners is a popular practice among humans and, so it seems, between the common chimpanzees and bonobos as well, but few scientists have studied the adaptive significance of kissing.
Gallup, an evolutionary scientist, believes the results of the study prove that kissing is used as a mate assessment technique, a means of initiating sexual arousal and receptivity, as well as a way to maintain a bonded relationship.
"Kissing is part of an evolved courtship ritual. When two people kiss, there is a rich and complicated exchange of information involving chemical, tactile and postural cues. This may activate evolved mechanisms that function to discourage reproduction among individuals who are genetically incompatible," Gallup says.
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