Public show of affection

I was using the subway and saw young teenagers showing PDA. I guess it was not for showing off..but to seize the time that they had! I was shocked seeing them as the girl wore shorts and was sitting on this boy and needless to say,he touched her thighs and kissed her!Till date, I saw one Indian couple showing PDA and I was little angry too because they were the only ones doing it in the subway that day.Americans smooching as if the world is coming to an end the next moment..has become normal for me...but when Indians do something more than what we are expected of..it looks fake.

 

I think a certain amount of PDA is good for the relationship. It can be stretched only as much as the other person does not feel uncomfortable. It is personal and also depends on the surroundings. PDA is a way of saying that we are together and can make each other feel closer to each other. In my case, my husband does not even hold hands (no initiation) even in our early married life. He will not even sit next to me in a casual way when MIL is around. He cares too much for what others may think. I actually respect men who dare to show their love for their wife in small ways or just being casual (themselves) I am sure many women will agree with me on this.

 

I'm more of 'Be a Roman while in Rome' kind of person. When i lived in the US or in Singapore, my hubby and I are free to show our affection to each other in public. Its just that nobody cares or gives a second look at what another person is upto.

But when we are in India, its a different story. As much as we'd like for the situation to change, we need to accept how things currently are and try to adapt to it the best we can. We definitely dont feel like embarrassing our in laws

 

Really interesting thread.
Thanks for sharing Your thoughts, my dear Ladies.

I would feel very unconfortable if I couldn´t show affection to my hubby even in public, as for me showing affection speaks much louder than words ever could.

My parents are showing their affection to each other too, even in front of us children and in public, but therefor they never had arguments in front of us.
You can say that showing affection seemed to be more natural and important (in public too) than the ability to argue (even today it´s a bit hard for me XD ).

It´s more likely that the influence of Christianity and his belive-system of good and evil had a great influence on the behaviour between men-women/hubby-wife/children-parents and the child education in the western society.
It is changing slowly since the 60ties until today. Thank goodness.
And today, like other Ladies mantioned, in most parts of Europe or the US it´s just normal and nobody cares, ´cause everybody do it.

Well, to be honest there are some couples (married or not) on which I´m thinking too, that they need some motel or something like that ´cause they are eating each other up.
Something like this doesn´t have to be in front of others.

 

I simply could not resist putting my views forward here...

My husband and I dont shy from public display of affection, though it stops at holding hands, hugs and probably a quick peck on the cheek or lip. Nothing more... very casual at most. We tend to automatically hold hands when we walk or 'be joined at the hip' Though initially we were holding back in front of parents, these days we dont. Hugging has always been there in our family, so my in-laws have also now caught on Saying all this, I just realised that we dont sit huddled together, but when we do sit next to each other, we cuddle up for a few minutes (only in our house)..But this is a matter of personal preference, more than anything else. There are lots of English women (older women) who hate all this, while the older men tend to reach out to you quickly. They are very quick to hug you..

I cannot say I am angry with Indian couple displaying affection.
Mythili

 

Indians or not, we all come from a civilized society!! I dont believe in we are Indians, we should be cultured and blah blah blah.. At the same time, we know where we should stop (as in, not getting mushy in public!)

IMO, a peck/kiss, holding hands, hugging or whatever form of PDA you choose, as long as people dont have to look in another direction (because you are getting too mushy) its fine!! But where do you draw the line?? Its a different boundary for different people. So whatever floats your boat!!