No, touching a woman’s ass is not the same as raping her. It is not the same, but it is part of the same because, more or less, man takes possession of something he thinks belongs to him, making use of a privilege that does not exist. Can the greeting with two kisses on the cheek be compared to these sexist attitudes?
The pandemic started the custom of the two kissing. The joy did not last long, as the new normal immediately brought them back to work, unfortunately. The rejection of two kisses made in the field of work by women is increasing, even if they fit into a widely accepted social protocol. Here contact does not bring affection. In my case, I usually go ahead of the other person’s greeting and offer them my hand, although the maneuver must be precise and quick because it doesn’t always go well.
Among strangers, social convention loses meaning when a closeness is automatically forced between people who, it’s not that they don’t know each other anymore, it’s that maybe they can’t stand each other. Also, many times the choreography causes cringe: painful cheek bumps, accidental spikes, lack of coordination when moving the head, nervous laughter, a dead hand behind the back… Why don’t we put an end to this dance of pathos once and for all?
The debate has been brewing for a couple of weeks on the networks, chats and tables. Welcome. A tiktoker quickly signed up, but this time it was the acting Secretary of State for Equality, Ángela Rodríguez, Pam. The two kisses, he said, “are part of the sexual culture in which we have grown up, of impunity and lack of consent”.
With all due respect, it’s not the same as touching your ass or tying your cheek out of habit. Does it mean that now women should give prior permission if a man approaches with the intention of greeting like that? Make him pay? And if it is the woman who takes the initiative?
Ángela Rodríguez’s doctrine presupposes that there is no possible physical exchange between man and woman devoid of sexual charge and that male sexuality always involves aggression or violence. Dear Pam, we don’t miss each other either.