Something The Matter Thimble Theater 1921 Segar (cropped)

A kissing booth is an attraction, usually at a

carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival ...

, where the person running the booth

kisses A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

other people, often to raise funds for charity. There are newspaper articles dating back to at least the early 1900s advertising upcoming kissing booths and their "osculatory favors". A 1918 article from ''The Garden Island'' newspaper states, "All the horors icof war disappears for the man with a roll of bills at the Red Cross kissing booth -- that is 'till his wife sees him."

Notable examples

At a national convention of the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members ...

in Dallas in 1971, LGBT equality campaigner Barbara Gittings staffed a kissing booth underneath the banner "Hug a Homosexual," with a "women only" side and a "men only" side. When no one took advantage of it, she and

Alma Routsong Alma Routsong (November 26, 1924 – October 4, 1996) was an American novelist best known for her lesbian fiction, published under the pen name Isabel Miller. Early life Alma Routsong was born Elma Louise Routsong in Traverse City, Michigan, ...

kissed in front of rolling television cameras. In describing its success, despite most of the reaction being negative, Gittings said, "We needed to get an audience. So we decided, let's show gay love live. We were offering free—mind you, free—same-sex kisses and hugs. Let me tell you, the aisles were mobbed, but no one came into the booth to get a free hug. So we hugged and kissed each other. It was shown twice on the evening news, once again in the morning. It put us on the map."Warner David. CityPaper.net. April 22–29, 1999; accessed November 4, 2007. American musician Marnie Stern ran a kissing booth at some of her concerts in 2008.

References

External links

A fundraiser in the buff
at ''Tampa Bay Times''
Alberta's bear-kissing booth back in business
at CTV

at ''Salon''
Hilda, 96, raises cash as she sells kisses
at ''Cambs Times'' Carnival games Kissing {{festival-stub

Notable examples

See also

References

External links