A pale blue teacup and a rose pink teacup sharing one round saucer, with their handles touching.

Original artwork, not a still

Richard Fish

If you don’t kiss a girl on the first date, you’re a gentleman. If you don’t kiss her on the second date, you’re gay!

— Ally McBeal ‧ 1997

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker jokes that a man is caught in a trap on early dates: holding back on the first is respectable, but holding back on the second supposedly invites doubt about his sexuality. The humour rests on a prejudiced assumption and on the idea that courtship expectations shift unfairly.

Context reviewed

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