United States not as touchy-feely in public as European countries

Sex in the suburbs

Spending a semester abroad became a lesson in sex I wasn’t soon to forget. I spent last semester in Spain —an Atlantic away from my boyfriend — and noticed Europeans are not afraid of public displays of affection. Although I enjoyed my time in Spain and the Spanish lifestyle, PDAs — like the Euro — were somewhat hard to get used to.

For the majority of college students, "anything more than a small amount of kissing, hand-holding or hugging in public is seen as too much," according to a Aug. 8, 2001 study by Reuters Health. The study further states definite differences exist among cultures when it comes to PDA, for example, the study pointed out that northern areas tend to view PDA as inappropriate. So, after returning to the U.S., I began to wonder: In our society, where’s the love? And why is PDA not accepted?

Sometimes it seems as though our society has forever been trying to discourage PDA. Yet, sitting in my civilization class in Salamanca, my professora had a different take on what Americans see as unnecessary public displays of affection. In the Spanish culture PDA celebrates love. To the Spanish, "making out" in public simply is a way of expressing affection — which is completely acceptable in that culture. In contrast to our culture, I found the Spanish view on physical affection very intriguing.

I’ve come to the same conclusion as the Reuters Health survey results. Most students agreed that "PDA is fine within limits," said junior Kate Scheiner. In other words, nothing more than pecking on the cheek and holding hands seems to be appropriate. Most also agree PDA just makes people uncomfortable. Ninety percent of women and sixty percent of men say they have a problem seeing couples groping or kissing in public, according to the Reuters Health survey.

Yet what really caught my attention were the responses I received while talking with people who have studied abroad, specifically in Europe. While most seemed to agree traveling made them more aware of and open to PDA, it did not significantly affect how they feel about it here. In Spain, it was common to see people making out on every street corner. In Lisbon, Portugal on Valentines Day, I literally saw people lying on top of each other in parks.

"[PDA] was definitely more prevalent [in Spain] and it didn’t bother me," senior Erik Linnekin said. "But I probably won’t do it just out of respect for others."

Students who have studied abroad seem to simply accept the difference in PDA comfort as a cultural difference and agree that Europeans are much more open about the human body.

"We Americans, unlike Spaniards, believe love to be a connection between two people rather than something that everyone shares," senior Gabby Lake, who also studied in Spain, said. "Therefore, our love lives are seen as a private matter."

PDA — whether holding hands or kissing extensively — seems to show that love is evident everywhere. However, we all have our own way of expressing it depending on our culture. As for those who would rather be more forward with PDA, Europe may be the place for you.