So this post was kind of inspired by this post by @thequeenofsastiel and the comment I made on it. Instead of replying with more comments I thought I'll just make a post about it. So whoever is interested in knowing why there is significant lack of kissing for official couples in the BLs or Asian dramas, keep reading.
Kissing is mostly associated with sexual acts in most of the Asian countries. Couples (het or gay) who are officially dating or are married, rarely show regular affection by kissing. (Not on lips or even cheeks) . And this is not just in public it's scarce in private too unless it's part of sex.
It was super rare till recent years, things are definitely changing due to globalisation and social media reach.
This is partly the reason why the first kiss is given so much importance in Asian dramas.
The other aspect of this is, most western couples greet each other with hugs or kisses. It's quite common for you to see your parents or other couples, kissing each other while saying good bye or after coming back home. You would never see that type of greetings in Asian couples. Most if not all Asian countries use the hand folding 🙏 gesture to greet each other. Other than work places even hand shakes are very rare and even termed rude sometimes if you try to do it in familial spaces.
So then, how do you differentiate between couples and just friends. So most couples show affection in different ways Iike taking care of each other, doing things for your partner which they are perfectly capable of doing themselves but you still do it for them. Feeding your loved one is also a big thing. In general spending time together, sharing meals, dropping them off home, waiting for them to finish classes/work are big indicators that a couple might be official. (And you see plenty of all this in BLs or k-dramas).
Hand holding is also quite common, but that's not limited to couples. If you visit any Asian countries you would frequently see friends holding hands or just sitting super close in each other spaces. Casual touches in between friends are quite common. Hence most of the west world is baffled at the casual intimacy these actors show on sets, behind the scenes or on stage performances. There is most of the time nothing gay going on there, it's just how the Asian youth roll.
But there are always exceptions, and I think Sam & Mon are more of an exception than a norm.
