From Katy Perry’s hit song to Britney Spears’ and Madonna’s infamous on-stage kiss, the phenomenon of heterosexual girls making out with each other is still as popular as ever. In a survey conducted by Her Campus Pitt, it was determined that 61% of females had, in fact, kissed a girl in a sexual way for one reason or another. Furthermore, when females were asked if they would kiss another female in the future, only 23% said no. Since the majority of women surveyed said they have done it and would do it again, this begs the question of Why?
A study conducted by Verta Taylor and Leila J. Rupp of the University of California, Santa Barbara found that there are four main motivators behind these girl-on-girl makeouts. The first motive, alcohol, plays a big role in these situations. A lot of females use this reason to explain their questionable actions. This motive also goes along with another one that was found, which is attention-seeking.
When women are at a party and drinking, their inhibitions are lowered, obviously making them more prone to doing things they may not normally do. Since drunken females are often looking for male attention and approval, they may engage in kissing another girl in order to impress or turn on a nearby male. It’s no surprise that many men enjoy the sight of this, since only 34% of males in HC Pitt’s survey said they did not think that two females kissing was attractive.
One male that was interviewed explained his attraction to a female makeout as “Seeing two attractive females being intimate is a turn on because I’d be more willing to join them than a man and a woman making out.” So, it seems as if the appeal of females kissing comes down to men’s desire to have a threesome. However, sometimes men will provoke females into kissing as well, as one woman who has done it described, “I feel pressured into making out with girls most of the time because of the guys egging me on.”
Another reason for this behavior that Taylor and Rupp found is sexual experimentation. Many females who are curious about their sexuality may kiss another woman at a party since there is less judgment when alcohol is involved than just experimenting alone with a female. Another woman that was interviewed discussed her experience and said, “The first time I did it it was because guys were around and I wanted to impress them. But I’ve done it a couple more times partly because I actually enjoy doing it. At this point, I would probably do it alone with a girl too. Maybe that means I’m bi or something but I don’t think I could actually be in a relationship with a girl.” Clearly there is some confusion going on in the minds of young females who choose to make out with another female. However, it appears that these public drunken experiments don’t make their sexual preferences any more concrete.
The last influence shown in the UC Santa Barbara study is simply a copy-cat function. Many female celebrities have been shown kissing in the media and it can inspire regular, non-famous women to want to do the same. Whether they are trying to emulate these celebrities or just get the idea from them, imitation can play a role.
Despite the majority of males being on board with this occurrence, females that do not partake in this behavior feel quite differently. Of the women interviewed who had not made out with another female, they described those who have as “trashy,” “immature,” and even “untrustworthy.” So, as with many things in life, it is important to keep in mind how one is being perceived based on her actions.
Source:
http://healthland.time.com/2010/09/15/girls-kissing-girls-whats-up-with-…