Has PDA Gone too Far?

By: Andrea Edwards

            When it comes to PDA (Public Display of Attention), just about all of us are guilty to some degree or another, of perhaps displaying some form of intimacy in public’s view.  Compared to many other countries, most Americans are able to tolerate it in tasteful doses.  But what is tasteful to some may be considered down-right lewd and disgusting to others.

            While it is true that most people appear to exercise good judgment, others have an unwavering knack for elevating such displays to a nauseating level.  In an article posted on AskMen.com, the writer stresses the importance of learning the rules of PDA.  It also provides readers with a list of acceptable and unacceptable behaviors of  PDA’s that includes such signs of affections as, hand-holding, kissing, declaration of love, ass smacks—which when compared to a pass article in the New Yorker is, well…child’s-play at best.

            According to that article, PDA in New York takes on a whole different face like—Public Sex.  The article featured quotes from some of the city’s most professional people i.e., a lawyer, a Wall Street project manager, and a book editor to name a few.  All of whom openly admitted to having sex in public places like in the office, on the steps of the criminal court building.  One young man age 29, name Greg, recalls giving the cabbie a big tip for being cool about him having sex in the back of the cab. 

            Greg later goes on tell a story of a summer night in Tompkins Square Park, where he and his friends noticed a woman hugging a tree while being orally pleasured for approximately 30 minutes.  By Greg’s account the couple never flinched once, not even when a passerby hopped the fence to get a closer look.  I don’t know about you, but I’d rather view an ass smack any day, than to be a witness to what Greg and his buddies saw that obviously hot summer night.