Kissing

Kissing is one of the most familiar ways people show affection, from a quick kiss on the cheek to a passionate embrace. For LGBTQ+ people, kissing a same-gender or gender-nonconforming partner in public can carry extra weight, turning a private gesture into a visible act of pride and defiance in places where queer affection is still policed or unwelcome. This is the idea behind the "kiss-in," a protest tactic popularized during the gay liberation era and the late 1980s and early 1990s AIDS activism, in which queer people gather to kiss openly in order to challenge homophobia and assert their right to love in public.