Should Public Displays of Affection Be Outlawed?
Maybe it was because I wasn’t in the best of moods. After waiting seven hours for a seven-minute interview all I wanted was to get home to my bed. The last thing I wanted to see was the pleasantly plump couple sitting across from me on the train making out all the way from 42nd Street to Brooklyn.
Their public display of affection (PDA) started back on the platform. Standing a few feet away from me, the male of the pair kept palming his girl’s ass and planting wet kisses on her. I was too busy staring down the darkened tunnel to pay them much mind, but when the train finally did arrive I was greeted with a front row seat to their love affair.
Tired from a long day, I made a beeline to the first available seat, which was one of those two-seaters in the far corner of the train car. Mr. Smoochie Face and his sweetheart wound up taking the bench directly across from me. The doors didn’t even have time to close before they started smooching and rubbing hands.
I knew then it was going to be a long ride home.
To the right of me was the wall. To the left of me was an endless field of assess and crotches. In front of me was the Overweight Lover Show (word to Heavy D). With limited visual options, I chose the most logical target to stare at—the floor.
Damn my 20/20 (last time I checked) peripheral vision and good hearing! As much as I wanted to ignore the lovebirds I couldn’t. I could see and hear them making out. Every time my eyes darted up, he was either kissing her or staring lovingly into her eyes while rubbing her thigh or hand. I’m all for love and all that, but this whole PDA exchange made me uncomfortable.
“Get a room,” I wanted to yell out.
I get it. They were going to rip each other’s clothes off as soon as they get home and make love for 15 minutes before passing out. Great! I was happy for them, but why did I have to be an eyewitness to the foreplay? I paid my $2.25 for transportation home after an extremely long day not for a grownup grope-fest. Ugh, I was disgusted.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been in love/lust/infatuation/strong “like” before and have held hands, grabbed an ass or two and laid a wet one on a lady friend in public before but it’s always been in moderation. My view on PDA is this: it’s cool in small doses, but going at it like a pair of horny teenagers on a half-day of school is a whole other affair.
Seriously, why should everyone else around you be subject to your affection? Your extended exchange of bodily fluids is a personal interaction between two people—keep it behind closed doors and out of sight of single folk like myself. Thanx.
It’s not like Mr. Smoochie and his girl were in an open park or beach, where there was plenty of space between them and the next person. No, these horn balls were less than two feet from me and I wasn’t the only one that noticed. This stallion of a White woman (sorry, she was hella bad and a partial-distraction) by the door and the old man in front of her saw what I was seeing as well. They kept staring over at the couple with the same disgusted face that I had.
Part of me wonders if the fact that this was a heavy set couple had something to do with it. I’d like to think not, but I’m sure I wouldn’t be as upset if it was a pair of hot lesbians giving me a public show—now that’s PDA I can support (LOL). With all honesty, though, I’d probably have a problem with that too. I feel there’s a time a place for sucking face and a certain level of respect for other’s personal space when you’re in close quarters like a train car. Save the make out sessions for the bedroom and stand clear the closing doors.
What are your thoughts on PDA? Should people have a right to be affectionate in public or is that disrespectful to those around them? Are you uncomfortable when people are making out in front of you? Are you guilty of engaging in PDA when you’re that into the person you’re with? Are you less disturbed by attractive couples? Is handholding and light caressing acceptable forms of PDA or should that be kept private as well? Do you hate couples that insist on holding hands or walking with his arm around her on a crowded street? Could you date someone that wasn’t affectionate in public at all?
Speak your piece…
.
“Should Public Displays of Affection Be Outlawed?”