On Kissing: Travels in an Intimate LandscapeA kiss can be an expression of parental affection or the focus of an erotic experience, a defensive social maneuver or an admission of vulnerability. In legend, a kiss can turn an ugly witch into a great beauty; in Hollywood, a kiss can transform a great beauty into a legend. Few gestures bring so much pleasure or play such an important role in our lives, as Adrianne Blue demonstrates in this funny, sexy, and eye-opening book. She explores every dimension of kissing, from the purely physical to the artfully abstract. Physiologically, it takes only two muscles to purse the lips, but a passionate kiss can involve all thirty-four facial muscles, and the rest of the body as well. Psychologically, kissing develops an infant's need to suckle, and it picks up a great deal of symbolic emotional baggage throughout our lives. Socially, it all depends on context: in Provence, three kisses are expected as a friendly greeting; in Japan, even a single peck can be a grave affront. One of Edison's first films was devoted to the kiss, and Blue offers her candidates for the silver screen's hottest kisses, reflecting along the way on the changing ideals of the sexy mouth, from Garbo's delicate thin line to Julia Roberts's fulsome fleshiness. She describes the kiss in other visual arts as well, such as the famous sculptures of Rodin and Brancusi, and she gathers a richly varied collection of poems, from those by Catullus (the Elvis of ancient Rome) to the Song of Songs, assembled here for lovers to share as they explore the many dimensions of kissing. |
Contents
Acknowledgements | 9 |
An Overview | 13 |
A Natural History of Kissing | 17 |
Copyright | |
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American anthropologists arms baby become behaviour betrayal blood body bonobo breast Brynhild caressing century cheek child chimpanzee Christian coitus common chimpanzee culture cunnilingus Cupid Cupid and Psyche death Deborah Kerr deep kissing desire Dick Vosburgh Dracula embrace erotic kiss ethologists ethology face falling in love famous father feel fellatio female film finger Fossey Frank Lazarus French Freud frog Garbo girl gorillas hand hero Hollywood human intimacy Iseult Jesus Judas Julian kiss of greeting later leper lips London look lovers Lucy male marry Martin Amis medieval mother mouth movie muscles neck never nipple novel oral sex orgasm Paris passion penis perhaps pleasure poem poet Prince princess Psyche Rhett Rodin Rodin Museum romance says Scarlett scene sculpture sensuality sexual Sleeping Beauty soul story sucking symbol tale teeth things thought told tongue touch Tristan Tristan and Iseult vamp vampire Venus woman women wrote