There was a great article by Bernard Salt in the Weekend Australian recently. It started off by saying: "You will have to excuse my ignorance but men are not always up with the latest fashionable behavior, especially as it applies to greetings and goodbyes." He goes on "I am speaking of course of the recent phenomenon of women kissing men in a socially cosmopolitan sort of way". Later he says that there's a "kissing epidemic"!
Here's a link to the article, but it's behind News Corp's new paywall which I assume means we're all locked out from reading it--
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/opinion/modern-blokes-brought-undone-by-a-kiss-on-the-cheek/story-e6frg9jx-1226183824092
Salt has problems with the rules. When is a kiss appropriate? What happens when you are one of 3 men meeting a woman who already knows the other 2, but not you? Is it one kiss, 2 or even 3? And apparently, geography has to be factored in, because apparently the rule varies in different places (more kisses in Provence (3) than in Paris (2), but I'll just have to take his word for that).
I think the real issue here is that this is one of those things that just comes naturally to women, who discern these things by instinct (or some form of subliminal communication), leaving us mere males way behind!
Interesting though the article is, Salt is obviously not married to a lady of Balkan origins! At least the rule in that part of the world is clear: it's 3 kisses for everyone, female/male, female/female and male/male.
I think that it was Clive James who advised caution in greeting the opposite sex. On being introduced to this lady, he went for the handshake and thrust out his hand. She went for the kiss and lent in towards him, leaving Clive James with his hand embracing the oncoming breast.
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