You remember your first kiss, the last kiss you had, and even that one racy makeout session that ended with you getting mono; kissing is really something special. It's one of the few physical intimacies you can share with your girlfriend and your grandma! So how do you feel about it in your porn?
Why Do We Kiss?
We're not going to launch into a huge anthropological study of kissing across time and numerous cultures because that would be all kinds of exhausting, but we ought to take a small sampling of reasons why we humans are so big on it.
There's no single accepted theory for what first got us putting our lips on other people's lips, nor can anyone figure if it's a product of nature of a social habit. Still, the similarities between our deep, passionate, tongue-locking kisses and the way certain animals transfer food between mouths suggest that we're genetically disposed to expressing closeness with this act.
Of course, there's a wide spectrum of reasons to kiss that fall between "wanting to lick your mate's face off" and "feeding the baby bird." Kissing can a religious sign of devotion, it can be proper greeting for old friends and new acquaintances, you can kiss for good luck, kiss for the New Year, blow a kiss through the air, kiss the Blarney Stone, kiss a contract, seal it with a kiss, and kiss it goodbye.
[Above: Rebeca Linares likes a lot of lip-locking with her lovemaking, from "The First Time"]
Smooching and Smut
Kissing isn't a necessary part of a sexual encounter, but we tend to think of it as part of foreplay, something to do with your face during sex, and a tender way to cap the event with your partner. But hey, that's sex, not porn.
In searching the internet for various people's opinions on the matter, we came across a few forums in which the majority of people were anti-kissing in porn. The general consensus is that it's too soft, feels forced, or gets in the way of the penetration. As one person puts it:
Porn should be animalistic. That's why we watch it: for the catharsis. Animals (many of them, anyway) are promiscuous, and so are we. Gives us an outlet to exorcise this drive of ours. Last thing I want to see is kissing.
A few years ago, Supreme Commandress Joanna Angel sat down with The Frisky to talk about kissing in porn, and she provided a lot of great insights. Asked why we don't see very much making out in porn (which we tend to disagree with, but that's beside the point), Joanna responded:
Most of the positions that are camera friendly in porn just aren't very conducive to kissing — like, you can't really kiss in doggy, or reverse cowgirl. Also, when I am on camera, I like to get really loud! And when you are kissing, you can't really go crazy and yell things like "F*#% me harder!" and stuff like that. If people were kissing 80 percent of the time in a scene, that scene would probably be a really quiet scene … and most people, performers and directors, just don't like that so much.
[Above: these people seem to be able to kiss quite successfully in "Cheaters Retreat 2"]
In Defense of Kissing
Joanna is right, kissing during a sex scene can be hard to maneuver and it turns the performers' bodies (and energy) inward instead of toward the camera. Still, as we've seen in the few videos we posted above, it happens, and it's super hot when it does. If you agree with that sentiment, then you're probably a candidate for some of the romantic, couples-oriented porn put out by Sweet Sinner, Sweetheart Video, New Sensations Romance, Wicked Pictures, and other companies. We've even compiled a list of some of our favorite producers of the raunchy and heartfelt stuff.
And on another note, when's the last time you've gotten down with some serious smooching? It doesn't matter how sexually experienced or freaky you are, you're never too old for a wild makeout session. Or if you and a bunch of friends are looking for something to do one evening, why not revisit some of those old kissing games you used to play as a youth? Creepy uncle Wikipedia has a brief list of the classics, including cherished/awkward favorites like Seven Minutes in Heaven and a strange 17th century game called Barley-Break. You can play as naughty or as nice as you'd like, but don't forget: kissing is the original oral sex.
[Above: we still think smooching in porn is the fucking best, via Lesbian Beauties 7: All Black Beauties]
[All videos courtesy of AEBN Porn Pay Per View Network and Adult Video On Demand]
[At top: photo from Exhibition Magazine, via Fashion Copious (fashioncopious.typepad.com)]