Oh, I see. I didn't realise we were speaking medically here. I...well, I honestly hadn't thought about that.

I'm going to be honest; I don't think that the spread of disease is the first thing that comes to mind when you're asked to kiss.

Is it? Now I'm not sure. Maybe it's just me.

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Sometimes it is, during flu season especially. For those living with people with compromised immune systems, it's always an issue.

But my point was simply that there is a very concrete difference between kissing a person and touching the oustide of their body, probably with clothes in between. A difference that's more than just learned behavior.

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I do see your point, and while it nicely proves that kissing strangers is quite different medically to being groped, I don't really think that it touches on the discussion of "Is kissing as much a learned behaviour as the attraction to breasts."

It relates, but doesn't really help with the argument.

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I think you may be right that they are both learned behaviors but the focus on intimacy of kissing also has to do with sense of smell and taste, which is not happening (or at least not mutually) in touching breasts.

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I'm seriously prone to think about the spread of disease/illness when I kiss people. Then again, I'm kind of a germ-a-phobe

If I have a tiny little canker on my lip (from having eaten something hot the day before/biting my cheek/etc.) I would (and have) told my friends "No kisses" because I didn't want to catch/spread anything. Even though I *know* I'm clean, and have tested clean for everything I can be, I still worry about the possibility.

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