87

A significant gesture in social and artistic representations, the kiss is one of modernity’s icons. By means of exploratory interviews and a questionnaire given to university students in Quebec and French-speaking Switzerland, the place and meaning of the first kiss were investigated. The data obtained suggest a set of contexts (kissing game or initiation) hinging upon experimentation and the exploration of techniques. But national factors seem to come into play when it comes to determining the place of the kiss in sexual scenarios, contributing to psychosexual development.