What is kissing, anyway?

There’s something I’ve always wondered for the longest time– where and how did the phenomenon of kissing originate?  This isn’t a new question– well, it is, actually.  Apparently, Philematology is a recently developed sector of research concerning kissing.  There seems to have been a hubbub last year when philematologists came out with new research. Many of them all agree that it most likely started when mothers chewed food to feed their young and that for each gender, kissing connotes different things.  It’s something that about 90% of world populations do, with only a very slim percentage of cultures who do not kiss.  Isn’t it crazy?

I finally had the chance to look up the origins of this long-term question last night when I came upon this:

I came upon it when I was reading this site that posts random blogs and I thought it was very, very cool.  In the brief explanation of the piece, it states that the the artwork is supposed to be a Chinese beverage of mixed tea and coffee, also representing the idea of love and marriage.  The Science of Kissing Gallery is a blog site that encourages people to post their own creative interpretations of kissing, whether it’s through visual arts, poetry, etc– and it doesn’t necessarily have to be one’s own work, but that of others, too (which explains famous artwork like Klimt’s The Kiss).

If you think about it, the Internet is such a good resource and avenue to finding out more about people– not just the plain technical information– like philematology or the history of kissing– but also the more personal, individual aspects of large populations.  It’s a place where people are able to post their own artwork, disseminate those of others, and in general, share their own ideas and opinions of such worldwide, overarching phenomena.  And then we’re able to see just how unique we each are, yet the same, because we all partake in this community of cultures.  And we’re able to see that even though these cultures may not always get along, that even though wars still happen and people still fight, there are still so many commonalities that tie us together.

Like kissing.

So think about that the next time you pucker up to kiss your significant others, your friends, your parents, your pets.  You’re doing something that nearly everyone in the world does, too (other than the basic necessities of eating and pooping).

—–

Gabby Park is a romantist who often ponders random questions, such as, “Where/how did kissing originate?”