Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 7, 1991 TAG: 9102060186
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By SUZANNE SCHLOSBERG/ Los Angeles Daily News
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
Kissing, that is.
Gathering lip rouge. Hanging a goober. Planting a burner.
"Everyone thinks they're a great kisser," said Edmark, author of "Kissing: Everything You Ever Wanted To Know" (Simon and Schuster; $6.95). "But there are definitely right and wrong ways to do it. We need to hone our skills a little."
The book includes kissing synonyms (see above), the history of kissing, kissing etiquette and the anatomy of a kiss, accompanied by a step-by-step flow chart. Edmark's book also discusses bad breath and "phony, meaningless" social kissing.
Edmark believes her book is vital in the era of AIDS.
"With all these problems out there, people are going back to kissing," she said. "The morals are kind of taking a swing."
People in their 50s and 60s are probably better at kissing than young people today, she said, because they've had more practice at it.
"They spent hours kissing," she said. "It was just so common."
Today, she said, there's more emphasis on what comes after kissing. Kissing as an end in itself is often ignored.
Edmark, 33, a Dallas resident who sells computers for IBM, said she was inspired to write the book after a terrible blind date at a football game: "During halftime, he leaned over and gave me a really disgusting kiss and told me how great he thought it was."
After that, Edmark began collecting articles on kissing and pondering the elements of a good kiss. She isn't cocky about her own abilities, but, she said, "I've never gotten a complaint."
Among the women Edmark interviewed, the biggest complaint was that men rush the preliminaries. "There really is a foreplay to kissing as well as to sex," she said. "There's hand-holding, touching, looking into their eyes. Women really like the warmth and holding. Most men perceive kissing as a warm-up to whoopee."
The biggest blunder, Edmark said, is rushing into an intensely passionate first kiss. "Kissing is not like an Olympic event, when speed wins the medal. So avoid zooming in with your mouth wide open, tongue at the ready and with a crazed look in your eyes."
To help avoid potential embarrassment, the book features a chapter on how to determine when a first kiss is appropriate. "Try either holding the person's hand, walking arm-in-arm or sitting close," the book says. "If you sense disapproval, smile and proceed with light conversation."
If the response is positive, the next step is positioning yourself properly. The section explains how to avoid a nose collision.
Edmark's book is not just a how-to manual. It also includes interesting facts about kissing. According to Dr. Joyce Brothers, for instance, the average American female has kissed 79 men before she is married.
In 1909, a group of men from Kansas formed the Anti-Kissing League. These men viewed kissing as unhealthy and unnecessary and pledged never again to kiss their wives. The league disbanded shortly thereafter, without explanation.
Now that her book has been published, Edmark said she has become quite popular around the office.
"Everybody wants a free sample," she said.
by CNB