“I was walking out of history class and there was this couple that … [was] against the wall making out right outside the [classroom] door,” said junior Julia Chang.
Witnessing unsolicited acts of intimacy has become a prevalent experience in daily high school life and school culture. According to Worldmetrics, 78% of people have witnessed public displays of affection in public spaces. Acts of affection can vary from heated make-out sessions in the middle of the hallways to less intense acts such as hugging or holding hands. Regardless of whether or not students choose to avert their eyes, these expressions of affection have begun to raise concerns over its disruption of student comfort and the academic learning environment.
“Hugging or holding hands [or] a little peck [on the cheek] is fine,” said sophomore Gabriela Ramirez. “But other than that, it’s just inappropriate. [I] walk by people touching each other, grabbing each other really inappropriately … it’s not something that I want to see.”
This boundary on which many people seem to draw the line of what kinds of PDA are “acceptable” arises from the difference between affection with romantic intent versus affection that is more sexually suggestive, acts such as groping and making out.
“[Sexual] actions are more private … so [it’s like an] invasion of privacy to [the] people who observe it,” said senior Rocco Lamberti. “Especially [at school] because you’re surrounded by your peers, and typically people that know you [at] some personal level. It can be awkward if they observe you [partaking] in more graphic forms of PDA … It’s a bit of a social taboo.”
The social context of a high school environment significantly impacts peoples’ perception of what PDA is appropriate.
“School is a place for education … where people are forced to be,” Chang said. “I don’t want to be forced to be in a place where couples are doing excessive [and] uncomfortable things. Outside of school, it’s more acceptable because … you can just walk away.”
In cases where couples do partake in PDA that is excessive in nature, their public image and respect may warp.
“Due to all the negative stigma around PDA, people fun of the couple [for showing PDA],” said junior Darren Benavente. “I was in a past relationship that people would view as ‘very PDA,’ [and] I felt people took it to an extreme … I’ve definitely [experienced] people talking badly about us.”
Sometimes, this judgment directly affects the relationship and the couple.
“People talk a ton about PDA when it comes to relationships, and … it can be very damaging,” Benavente said. “[I] had a partner that was very insecure about that, and they felt uncomfortable … [which] hurts the couple as a whole.”
Yet, despite all the criticism that arises, couples still partake in PDA at school for a variety of reasons.
“Maybe they don’t have the time to see each other outside of school,” Lamberti said. “Maybe their parents don’t allow them to see each other, or they’re not supposed to, and so they do it at school to still express their affection.”
While this seems to be the primary external factor for why PDA occurs at school, personal preference also plays a part in how couples choose to express their affection.
“Some people’s love language is physical touch … [It’ll] make them feel more comfortable around their partner and they just consistently want that,” Benavente said.
Although the presence of acts of affection has received many different opinions, it is still a visible culture that is practiced in many different public spaces, including schools.
