Back to the Basics

by JEN FISCHER

Whether Ginger and the Professor, from Gilligan’s Island or Jane and Edward from Charlotte Brontë’s classic, Jane Eyre, there have been couples who present with a certain chemistry from the moment they meet. It never made sense to me that Hot Lips Houlihan and Hawkeye Pierce, from the series M*A*S*H never hooked up, yet Ms. Houlihan always had time for a quickie with the repugnant Frank Burns. I wanted to reach through the TV screen and push their lips together -- so much sexual tension, so little action.

Perhaps that is exactly what kept me coming back. I kept watching and reading; expecting it to happen. But exactly what is “it?” Is “it” sex? Is that what I was expecting? If it had, would I have come back to the medium at hand? 

As it turns out, there is so much more to sex than actual intercourse. I’m not just talking about foreplay either. It may start with a glance, which then morphs into a smile, perhaps even a wink. The opening act to full-on flirting. There is an energy that exists, when both parties feel it, this energy fuels itself. Sometimes that is all there is. The encounter is over. It was brief and exhilarating, and enough. 

Are these basic, seemingly innocuous actions what we may be missing in an established relationship? Perhaps. Even the next insipid step, such as holding hands and then touching lips may be too far for the magic to sustain itself. Healthy sex between consenting adults doesn’t always mean more sex. Sometimes it means less; for the time being. It means creating the tension, the build-up, the desire. 

For each of the aforementioned characters, it was the invisible yet palpable force between them that created the stimulus; never touched, only felt. The existence of tension begins with the subtle tease. It is so fundamental it is often forgotten once the bodies meet. Kissing is important, cuddling can be a big deal, touching is often taken for granite; but there is principle beauty in basic chemistry.