The INSIDER Summary:
- A survey found that not many people enjoy making out in public, but they do it anyways for the performative aspect.
- Men and women surveyed said that they did it to increase social clout or to make someone jealous.
- But men tended to gain popularity, whereas women said that their reputations took a hit when engaging in PDA.
Chances are, at one point or another, you've witnessed an act of public display of affection, also known as PDA. Whether it was a couple blocking your locker with some goodbye smooches in high school or a couple annoying you with how happy they looked sitting on the same side of the table at a restaurant, PDA is everywhere.
But a survey found that, although a large number of people have done it, people aren't really showing affection in public because they like it.
Researchers from The University of Kansas asked 155 female and 194 male college students to fill out an online questionnaire about their sexual histories and habits. In one section they were asked about “performative making out," a.k.a locking lips in a public place that you know people can see you.
Although a number of people said they participated in PDA, 32% of people who identify as women and 37% of people who identify as men said that they had engaged in PDA in a strictly performative way. So it really wasn't about being caught up in the moment with their partner — it was about grabbing other people's attention.
When it comes down to their motivations, 55% of women polled said that they wanted to be seen locking lips with a man to make other people jealous of them and 30% say they did it to boost their reputation. For men, a whopping 59% said that they did it to boost their image and 39% said they figured "why not?"
The study focused mainly on male-female make-outs, but 13 women in the study said that they had engaged in performative PDA with another woman. Of these, seven said that they engaged in this behavior to "arouse or please men."
This hard look at PDA also shed some light on sexist and slut-shamey double-standards about affection. Much of the motivation for PDA across genders seemed to be boosting reputation or having other's look at them with envy. But when they did engaged in PDA, men and women reported very different reactions from people.
The men in the study reported that they received a reputation boost often from being seen making out with a woman in public, but women reported the opposite pattern, saying that they were often labeled a "slut."
As long as you're comfortable, you should make out with whoever you want whenever you want (within reason, and as long as you scooch aside when I'm trying to get to the cereal at the grocery store). If you find something liberating and empowering about showing off your PDA, then go for it.
But we should treat people who mack in public the same — no one should be made to feel bad after they engaged in a consensual sexual or romantic act. After all it takes two to tango — or mack at a bus stop.
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