Get a room

[theyellowhobbit]

I've been meaning to post about this for a while, but haven't gotten around to it until now.

One of my pet peeves is people making out in public. Specifically, in a situation where other people are trapped nearby.

This past Saturday I was in Harvard square waiting for the shuttle to the quad. The bus goes down Mass ave, which at this point is a one-way street, so is coming from the east. To the east of me also was a couple who couldn't keep their hands off each other. So here I am waiting for the bus. And usually when I wait, I find myself looking in the direction where the bus is coming from in the hopes of seeing the bus. But every time I did, there'd be the couple making out.

The other example goes way back to the week of Yom Kippur. One day I was waiting for a bus on Cambridge street in the little bus stop hut. There was a couple sitting on the bench in the hut making out, so I had to move to standing outside. So in that case I was robbed of a seat, because obviously I couldn't sit down next to them making out...

I think I'm bothered by this because it feels like this should be something private, and I'm invading their privacy and shouldn't be there, except that they're in public and I have every right to be waiting for the bus. I don't feel uncomfortable with people kissing in movies, because there's the separation of the screen, and I know that I'm not actually watching them go at it in real life.

Comments

[loveablebaruch.livejournal.com]

well, i think it's wonderful people show expressions of love in public.

[spacehawk.livejournal.com]

I am also really bothered by people making out/touching each other romanti-sexually in public. For me it's not quite about the public/private "distinction", so much as "I don't want to hear/feel all that!" Those moments are very intense and intimate and it's very awkward for me to experience the sexual arousals of strangers. They either don't know or don't care what they're "broadcasting" (in quotation marks because this is a metaphor).

Also, I completely agree that movies are totally different. No real people there if it's just a screen.

[sen-ichi-rei.livejournal.com]

Up to a point I agree with you. Holding hands, arms around each other, it's cute. But everyone has their own personal limits. Would you feel comfortable if you were walking down the street and there was a couple having sex? For me, making out is where I get uncomfortable. Especially because in both these situations I was stuck waiting for the bus.

[sen-ichi-rei.livejournal.com]

I mean, I also don't want to experience all that, though for me it's just the seeing of it, so it's more removed. I feel like there's awkwardness no matter what. Maybe I'm just a prude. I'd like to think that if I had a boyfriend I would be nice enough not to make out with him in public.

[spacehawk.livejournal.com]

I most certainly would not. ^_^

Also, I agree with you that being "stuck" in a place is at the essence of the problem. When I'm not stuck, I simply move away. On a packed train or bus, this can be quite difficult.

[bz-mahrabu.livejournal.com]

I wrote a short piece about this, about 10 years ago. Bonus points to anyone who can figure out the gimmick.

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"Get a room!" I shout annoyedly at stupid folks who stand mutually embracing, happily oblivious, and do not remember they remain in public.