DEAR STRAIGHT TALK: I am a 24-year-old man relatively new to dating. It has been my assumption that kissing a woman on a first date is considered “too forward”, but after reading relationship advice from various sources, I’m getting the impression that a kiss is expected if the date is going well. Is it normal for a good first date to end with a kiss? — Andy in Bowling Green, Ohio
Editor’s Note: In Mary Schmich’s famous “Wear Sunscreen” essay, the words, “Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.” were the words most ignored. It’s too bad. The “magazine effect” is enormous. And now magazines have cornered dating advice. And they’ve designed it around the expectation that everyone wants to be a movie star, or a porn star, and if you don’t, there’s something wrong with you. I guarantee, if you just act yourself, and act from the heart, the encounters you have will actually be sexier, because of their realness. The mainstreaming of pornography has duped everyone to think that sex is what’s sexy. The sexiest thing is and always has been the human heart and mind, expressed as realness, intelligence, and vulnerability. —Lauren
Comments
-
Well it really depends on the date. If there is a lot of chemistry I will go for it, but if not then I will wait it out. There’s not really rules on dating, contrary to popular belief, every date is an individual experience. -Justin



