Talk:Cheek kissing

Contradiction
In fact, when some Latin American people are introduced to someone new, they usually greet them with a cheek kiss if the person being introduced to them is a member of the opposite sex or two women. If the person is a complete stranger, no kissing is done."

Any person you meet for the first time is always a complete stranger to you. The snare (talk) 17:38, 18 May 2016 (UTC)

Macao
"Cheek kissing is relatively popular in the South East Asian country of Macao as a lot of the residents are of Portuguese decent." Ahahaha, what? Is this a vandal troll or what? Macao is East Asian, not South East, and no, not a lot of them are of Portuguese descent.
 * In fact the residents of Portuguese descent are so few, that they do not even make up a percentage of the total population of Macao, and are indeed heading to certain and irreversible extinction. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.224.42.19 (talk) 17:54, 9 December 2009 (UTC)

Western Europe, Accuracy
For visitors, European kissing habits are very difficult to catch since they vary considerably from region to region.

Some regions/countries are not mentioned in the main article:

France: custom greeting is a kiss on each cheek: male-female, female-female and male-male

Belgium: one kiss on the right cheek: for everyone, male-male kiss becoming more and more common, especially amoung young people

the Netherlands: much less kissing than in Belgium! reserved to family and close friends - usually two or tree kisses then - male-male kiss rare


 * I don't know how common it is in Belgium, but it's definitely not uncommon in Netherland. It is the common greeting among family, friends and acquaintances (not male-male, though), and is not unheard of in other situations. When a co-worker leaves the company, for example. (Mcvos (talk) 11:24, 13 September 2010 (UTC))

Germany: even less kissing than in the Netherlands

Sweden / Denmark: people tend to take more distance than in the rest of Europe, so a kiss is certainly not the standard greeting but also reserved to close family and friends.

As a general rule, visitors can get away with a polite handshake if they find the kissing habits in Europe to difficult. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.201.41.98 (talk • contribs)


 * About Germany: It happens a lot here among young people (male-female and female-female, male-male being rarer). But I agree that it's difficult to understand when it's appropriate, and that it's generally fine just to shake hands. 90.135.143.202 (talk) 15:34, 8 January 2008 (UTC)

"Although cheek kissing is not as widely practised as in other parts of Europe, it is still extremely commonplace. "

This is highly disputed. Are there any sources for "extremely commonplace" ? - FrancisTyers · 19:47, 28 June 2006 (UTC)

It is certainly not appropriate to mention Switzerland as a country alone, but kissing (3 kisses) is VERY common among friends of all ages (except male-male). But CH is part of WE and not SE, so the question remains, how to correctly group the countries... Tang Wenlong (talk) 07:34, 17 March 2008 (UTC)
 * but it is appropriate to mention the netherlands as a country alone? "Southern Europe" and "Western Europe" can't be used together, Western/Eastern distinction is normally based on the ex-Iron Curtain & southern Europe is not a term I've heard widely used before but that presumably mostly includes countries from what most people call "western europe".

How is it done?
When giving a cheek-kissing, one should start from the left (right cheek of the other person) or the right? Different country does it differently?--202.22.246.26 03:27, 10 November 2006 (UTC)


 * OK, my two cents as french very uncomfortable whith this "faire la bise" social requirement. First of all this is not a lip-to-cheek contact, but a cheek-cheek contact with a kiss in the air evidenced by a sony event (the "bise", something like "smack"). It's anatonomically impossible to simultaneously have a lip-to-cheek contact so my guess this is the reason why it has to be doubled, at least, is by a mean of reciprocity : this is not the same as when a parent kiss his child on the cheek, whe need a kind of equality here. The problem is where to start : from the left or from the right? It is exactly the same problem when you are walking in the street and that someone is going straight in your way : you're going left to avoid collission, he's going left too to avoid you, you went right, he did too, you left, he right, left, right, left, right, bang! The good thing with "faire la bise" is that it enventually ends is a much more pleasant way than a simple body collision, just because you do not really want to avoid the lip-to-lip collision. But remember, this happens only once in a lifetime :-) Best 134.214.60.60 (talk) 22:39, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

O RLY?
''Depending on the local culture, cheek kissing may be considered appropriate between a man and a woman, a parent and a child, two women, or two men. The last is socially accepted in Russia and the Middle East but may bring up associations with homosexuality in Western Europe, Latin America and the US.''

Take my advice, stick to your Lonely Planet. That's about as socially accepted as a headshot for a greeting. Which is not.

Cheek kissing between male relatives (i.e., father/son, uncle/nephew, grandfather/grandson, cousins, brothers) is perfectly acceptable by many if not most Miami Cubans, who regard this as a sign of familial affection. This happens between relatives regardless of the age of either party. They don't practice cheek kissing between male friends, unless the friendship is very close. See Andy Garcia and others in The Lost City (2005 film) for examples. -- Jerseycube (talk) 04:06, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

Made changes to USA/Canada section...
I significantly reworded the USA/Canada section to reflect how rare cheek kisses are in these countries. I am a resident of California, USA for all my life and from my experience cheek kisses are rare to nonexistent. I feel comfortable making these changes unilaterally because of how exceptionally rare they are; however, if somebody from a different region of the US feels that they are more commonplace than I make them out to be, feel free to reword the section to make it more neutral and to add additional detail of how cheek kisses are done in your region. —Lantoka ( talk 01:43, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

I think that in the USA/Canada the practices are affected not only by ethnic background and region, but also by culture and circle of friends. I see people who are involved in the arts kiss each other on the cheek upon greeting. This goes for men kissing men, as well as women kissing women and women kissing men. If the people are into the arts, it does not seem to matter what their sexual orientation happens to be. I don't see this every day, but I do notice that people who are involved with the arts are more physically demonstrative. Perhaps it comes from their largely progressive mindset, or perhaps simply because there are many gay people in the arts, and those who are not gay are usually comfortable around the gay people. I know there are exceptions to this, but I have observed this many times.

--Choirboy622 16:31, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

My suspicion is that, taking ethnic and cultural variations into account, most cheek kissing in the U.S. would be between relatives. Cheek kissing non-relatives, such as friends, isn't exactly unheard of, but seems much more likely to cause confusion even when it is obviously intended as a non-romantic gesture.

On the other hand, regional elements do play a major role. What I know best would be mostly New England and the other states in the Northeast... not exactly the most "demonstrative" places in the U.S. The Midwest doesn't seem to be too different in this respect, but the South and the Southwest contrast so much as to seem like a different country altogether. --72.224.72.24 09:41, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

I agree that cheek kissing in Anglo-American US cultures is fairly rare except among family from what I've seen. Its true that gay and arts communities may engage in it more (as well as the air kiss), but it doesn't seem that common among the general population. Among close friends, I see the hug much more often than either the cheek or air kiss. An Italian friend of mine observed that the role of the hug and cheek kiss are generally reversed between Italy and the US. A hug is usually seen as less intimate in the US than a kiss, while in Italy a cheek kiss is common and a hug is seen as more intimate. At least this is what I observe in California and the western United States.Sbfisher (talk) 18:06, 27 February 2012 (UTC)

Possible POV
"If the relationship between any two people is close enough for a full-body hug then it is almost certainly close enough for a cheek kiss"


 * Don't agree with that. I hug all my friends but I'd never kiss them.Buc 16:16, 23 December 2006 (UTC)


 * I'd partially agree with it, but it depends from person to person whether they'd kiss or not. The one issue is that it's accepted for men to hug other men (if close friends) but not to kiss. Other than that it's usually acceptable to kiss someone on the cheek if you'd hug them, but not everyone kisses on the cheek.


 * Can someone either identify what, exactly, the "bias" is in that section to warrant a neutrality tag? If there isnt a specific bias then it doesnt deserve a tag. Disagreement over personal preference of hugging over kissing is not enough to warrant a tag. FYI I know people who are more comfortable with a cheek kiss than a hug, and vice versa. Fig 12:51, 22 January 2007 (UTC)


 * I was confused about the neutrality tag also. FerralMoonrender 23:46, 28 March 2007 (UTC)


 * I deleted the disputed sentence because (a) while it may not be distinctly POV, it was controversial, and (b) it really did not add anything to the article. I also reprased the next sentence from 'it is inappropriate' to 'it is widely regarded as inappropriate' or something of the like.  As such, I have removed the neutrality tag.  If anyone disagrees with this, feel free to revert my change (with an explanation, of course) and open discussion for further review.  FerralMoonrender (MyTalk • MyContribs • EmailMe) 05:03, 30 May 2007 (UTC)

Odd Info
I'm not sure this statement actually adds anything to this article: "Accounting for it is a plot element in Frederick Forsyth's thriller The Day of the Jackal." FerralMoonrender 23:50, 28 March 2007 (UTC)

UK / Ireland
Removed the whole completely uncited, incorrect section. - Francis Tyers · 14:46, 1 August 2007 (UTC)

Sorry, but I am putting it back in, it is true what it says. It IS common, I greeted my mums friend with a kiss last week and my friend a few days ago. It isn't as common as a hug, but it didn't claim to be! Sweetie candykim (talk) 00:00, 18 May 2011 (UTC)

Main Image
The current main image for this article, though cute, doesn't fit the tone or professionalism of Wikipedia; namely, you can't see much of either person's face. Perhaps if someone were willing to replace it... -- Is this fact ... ?  22:39, 26 March 2008 (UTC) I replaced it with my own image, although I'd prefer if it were someone else's-- -- Is this fact ... ?  21:38, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

netherlands
"Unusually for western countries a Dutch cheek kiss always consists of three consecutive kisses."

what? three consecutive kisses is not uncommon elsewhere, switzerland and france come to mind. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.35.31.33 (talk) 14:34, 27 July 2008 (UTC)

Cheek kissing consisting of three consecutive kisses also exists in the Arab world, not just in Western Europe, especially in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and France.
Cheek kissing consisting of three consecutive kisses also exists in the Arab world, not just in Western Europe, especially in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and France.

But the question is: How common is cheek kissing consisting of three consecutive kisses in Arab countries; does it depend on each country, region and environment? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.215.25.42 (talk) 15:43, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

Philippines
The entry about the Philippines (under the Asian section) is incomplete. While it is true, there is also the cheek-to-cheek beso greeting, there is no doubt the Spanish/European/Latin style of kissing lips-to-cheeks. In fact, this is a normal way of kiss-greeting (beso), but in the Filipino culture, the kiss is only once. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.230.9.55 (talk) 03:23, 8 August 2010 (UTC)

Confusing re: Wallonia
In the passage on Holland it says there are three just like (northern) Belgium...one paragraph later it says Walloons only kiss once.Historian932 (talk) 02:56, 8 September 2010 (UTC)

Inconsistent and wrong intro
The start of the article points out that cheek kissing is common in southern, central and eastern Europe, and less common in, among other places, northern Europe. When it goes into specific countries, it turns out that it is common in Netherland (where it definitely is common), as well as some other western/northern European countries. And it's less common in Germany, despite it being more central Europe, where it should be more common. I suggest the introductory paragraph to be removed or rewritten. (Mcvos (talk) 11:20, 13 September 2010 (UTC))

Turkey
Turkey is considered a Eurasian country which is above the Middle East region, between Middle East, Europe and Asia. The country is a part of many Europe related organizations and considered in the Euro zone by many organizations including United Nations. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.89.183.205 (talk) 01:50, 1 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Please give reference when adding material about the subject in Turkey. --BwB (talk) 09:00, 6 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Turkey is geographically a Eurasian country, with 97% in Asia (Anatolia, which is the Asian part of Turkey, is geographically part of the Middle East, which in turn is geographically part of Asia, the Middle East is not a region separate from Asia) and 3% in Europe. However culturally it is not Southern European, especially when it comes to cheek kissing, even less. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.213.223.118 (talk) 13:12, 8 April 2011 (UTC)
 * OK But you must qdd q reference when qdding material.--BwB (talk) 12:47, 9 April 2011 (UTC)


 * The problem is that Turkey is categorized under European countries on Wikipedia and for the sake of integrity, it is best to follow the same guideline here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe#Political_geography. Your own opinion about whether the country is culturally Southern European or not cannot be used as a reason to change the categorization. Wikipedia is not a forum where you share your personal opinions about topics and edit articles according to those subjective ideas. It is also important to understand what is accepted as a reliable source for an article on Wikipedia. Please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:External_links for more information. Blog websites which tend to have personal opinions cannot be used as reliable sources for an encyclopedic content. I hope this clarifies the issue for you. 76.89.183.205 (talk) 10:34, 11 April 2011 (UTC)


 * I will escalate this issue to an editor as you are vandalizing the page, undoing the previous edited article without explanation. You should understand the consequences of such actions. 76.89.183.205 (talk) 11:02, 11 April 2011 (UTC)


 * The user 76.89.183.205 who has engaged in an edit war over this issue with me and with the user Menikure has to understand that Turkey is geographically in Asia, and in Southwest Asia (Middle East) to be precise. The ancient geographical name of Turkey was "Asia Minor" (Little Asia) and has for many centuries been considered as part of Asia. Turkey (which is primarily in Asia, not in Europe) has long been considered to be "Middle East", and never "South European". That Turkey is a memeber of many European organizations (just like Cyprus, which is entirely in Asia) does not change this fact. The user is ignorant of the fact that culturally Turkey has practically nothing in common with the South European countries, though (except the southeast Turkey around Mardin, Şanlıurfa, Gaziantep and Hatay, where the Arabic language and cultural inflences are significant) it has also not a lot common with the Arab countries and with Iran, apart from religion, either. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.254.129.68 (talk) 13:17, 11 April 2011 (UTC)


 * I cannot see any sources here. Sorry but you are still sharing what you think. There's already been a long debate about this subject on the discussion page of Europe. Please check the article to see the result. What you write here are basically your ideas and it would be the same if I said the country is the opposite. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Greek%E2%80%93Turkish_relations&diff=prev&oldid=423507668 Here, it can be seen what you are trying to do. 76.89.183.205 (talk) 13:23, 11 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Rather than issuing some blocks I have protected the page for 24 hours. Edit warring is frowned on on Wikipedia, you should follow a process of Bold,Revert,Discuss. Right now you are on the Discuss part. Please come to an agreement here on the talk page before continuing to edit this content into the article --Errant (chat!) 13:30, 11 April 2011 (UTC)


 * Rather than arguing about it, why not just look for sources that cover all the bases. Turkey is smack bang between Europe and the Middle East with parts of the country in both. It was the gateway between the Asia and Europe, but is difficult to define which it really belongs too. It's further east than the traditionally though of Eastern European nations like Bulgaria, Hungary and even the Former Soviet republics of Lithuania etc. However, it's further west than the typical Mid East nations that surround the Persian Gulf. However, to say it's in Asia isn't strictly correct either. In ancient times, it was referred to Asia Minor because it geographically was similar to Asia. However, in modern terminology, Central Asian nations are ones such as Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and the other sourthern former SSR's. What is needed is a sentence that covers bases by indicating how it was referred to and by which sources. Something along the lines of "Turkey is considered by some as a European nation (source), a Middle Eastern nation (source)" etc etc. --Blackmane (talk) 08:16, 12 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Is this article about social kissing, or is it about geography? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 09:21, 12 April 2011 (UTC)
 * It probably started off about kissing but then degenerated into a segue about where it's practised followed by a subsequent segue as to what part of the world said place is --Blackmane (talk) 21:49, 12 April 2011 (UTC)

Cosmetic changes
I've made a few cosmetic changes to the article. No new content, just some retitling and moving some things around. This was inspired by some discussion with the IP. It seems silly to edit war over which continent Turkey is in. That's not really the point of this article. So I'm trying to get it away from "continentalization" to some extent. It's more about regions and countries than about continents. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 18:29, 11 April 2011 (UTC)

CONGRATULATIONS!
Capital letters are intentional. Congratulations! I do love all the pics. They are absolutely simple, soft and sweet in a way that surprise us b/c they touch us, simple readers, so deeply! Well done! At last, but not at least, since I am unemployed now and I can't donate only for now (I am so sorry) and although a comment is always welcome but not enough (in my opinion), I just want to write "thank you" to each and everyone from the Wikipedia, you are amazing, "working" for us, users. 189.25.17.126 (talk) 15:20, 20 July 2013 (UTC) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Please add

Gay Culture
In popular gay culture, kissing on the cheeks was influenced by homophobic people to denigrate them. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.49.157.227 (talk) 05:29, 16 June 2015 (UTC)

Nordics and the Baltic states
I guess it rather goes to the generalization of Eastern Europe that kissing cheeks is common. Never have I seen this tradition in the Baltics or the Nordics. Even with family or really close friends… if they do kiss cheeks, it’s really rare. Rather an individual exception than a norm. I’d say kissing cheeks is seen as something very intimate and even unpleasant or offensive (e.g. someone not so close decides to do that). 87.119.186.103 (talk) 23:06, 29 November 2021 (UTC)

"Kiss hello" listed at Redirects for discussion
An editor has identified a potential problem with the redirect Kiss hello and has thus listed it for discussion. This discussion will occur at Redirects for discussion/Log/2022 October 27 until a consensus is reached, and readers of this page are welcome to contribute to the discussion. Steel1943 (talk) 17:03, 27 October 2022 (UTC)