Differences in culture with Chinese/American dating and affection.

[crazy-meiguoren]

Ness, I may be a little late for your report, but I still want to put in my two cents' worth, from a US point of view (and someone who has yet to set foot on a Chinese-speaking country...)

I do see couples holding hands here. I seldom see couples hold hands where both parties are Asian (I say that, since one cannot always precisely identify a stranger's nationality. I've guessed wrong many times.) In most cases, it will be a white guy and an Asian woman holding hands. There will always be couples around that will kiss in public - I used to do that in my younger years, especially to entertain older people who have nothing better to do than to stare at young couples showing affection. Someone in my family, who works at a gym, has confronted kissing couples, reminding them that it is a family facility, not a facility for making families.

However, I am also quite troubled when I see a couple on a date, who are yakking on their cell phones instead of giving their attention to each other. It's very disrespectful to one's date.

[Ness]

Thanks for the response!

[baozi]

I see young people holding hands all the time on the street. I think there's a big generational divide on what's considered acceptable behaviour... Only guessing this because I've never seen an old couple do more than hold hands or hug. Well, I saw a couple in their thirties walking withtheir child, and the husband kissed his wife on the cheek. Tasteful and cute!

But I've noticed, the later it is in the evening, the more touchy-feely young people tend to get. I've seen young chinese couples making out on the street!

At night, parks tend to be makeout heaven, with couples camped on the grass everywhere sucking face. It's kinda funny. In Canada, I didn't see this. I guess it's because young adults tend to live with their parents?

Anyways. I've only been here a month, and this is what I've seen so far in Wuxi.