Kissing is not a universal thing that couples do
around the world. It is seen as something that is western more than anything. India
may be the place where Kama Sutra originated but kissing is one thing that is
not done publicly. Arranged marriage is still practiced, sex before marriage is
rare, passionate kissing practiced by the unmarried is discouraged but at the
same time passionate kissing is becoming popular. Kissing in public goes
against India cultural beliefs about kissing publicly as going against chastity.
Kissing represent women deciding whether they want to get married or not and
they now have rights to veto a marriage if giving permission by their parents. Men
used to initiate forms of intimacy but now women are doing it themselves. Sex in
marriage was used to benefit the males as a form of getting good sleep for
instance like a sleeping pill. It is ok for women to ask what they want in
return now. Regardless it is still taboo to kiss in public.
Is article is significant because it explains how
India is changing in this century. It is showing how women are actually being
able to make decisions on love and aren’t subjected to something unwanted
because of their gender. It also represents how American western cultures are
an influence on traditional collectivistic cultures. It also shows that just
because something is accepted in one culture does not mean that it is public
practiced or expressed. Public exposure is not the norm in every culture like
it might be in the United States. In the US kissing or other forms of public
affection are not frown upon and in relationships women are expected to express
their selves. Then again women in America have not always had some of the same
freedoms that men have had in relationships. American women used to have
arranged marriages and had to be discrete about their actions in public and had
to submit to what their husbands wanted. Overtime things that are taboo or not done
so much in a culture tend to change because of outside influences, media etc.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/14/world/asia/in-india-kisses-are-on-rise-even-in-public.html?pagewanted=2
Chanel Martin
2/15/13 2:35am
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