Kissing friends

[OhWhatACarveUp]

Ok, it's not a thread about infidelity as the title might suggest.

I've been living in France for five years. This weekend I was back at home at met a group of friends, friends I've known for decades. As soon as I turned up, I started kissing people as a greeting, and quite frankly my friends were taken aback. I'm male if it helps. My friends and I come from a fairly ordinary (what I'd say as lower middle class background).

My AIBU is AIBU to kiss old friends like this?

Is it normal to kiss old friends? It's definitely not an affectation, but I do wonder if it's either a class thing (not to) or a French thing (to kiss). Do men kiss women as a greeting in your group of friends?

I kiss my male friends hello.

Lower middle class/southern.

It depends where! A quick kiss on the cheek I would consider absolutely fine! (personally I don't like hello hugs or kisses, but im used to them, and consider them normal). A kiss on the lips and I'd push you away pretty damn fast and probably consider it a violation and it would make me feel sick

A kiss on the lips and I'd push you away pretty damn fast and probably consider it a violation and it would make me feel sick

I agree. In my case it was fairly standard cheek to cheek air kissing

I couldn’t stand that, I remember a male colleague hugged me once, ugh he wasn’t a close friend.

I am female and would usually hug females and kiss males and my female friends do the same.

Males in my circle would usually kiss females and shake hands

Shake hands with males

I hate a kiss greeting, so much. I just don’t like it.

I suffer it when I meet up with dh family and mine & dh posh friend but god I hate it.

My family have never been the kissing/hugging kind so it’s alien to me

I'm beginning to think me and my friends are strange! We kiss (sometimes on the lips) and say 'I love you' regularly!!!

I love it though and wouldn't change it

The variety on this is mad! Absolute minefield.

I'm of Moroccan background, born and bred in London. I kiss everyone and don't really care what they think. If anyone doesn't like it, they won't get kissed. Their loss!
Keep kissing it's beautiful!

No kissing.
Hugs only rarely.

It's a cultural thing. When I live in Belgium everyone did it - even men towards other men. I stopped when I moved back to the UK as it wasn't expected so people would find it odd.