01:16USA: Hundreds lock lips at Times Square for WWII anniversary smooch
Loved-up war commemorators came out kissing in abundance on Times Square, New York on Friday, with hundreds re-enacting the iconic lip-lock between a US. sailor and nurse which was immortalised by LIFE Magazine, in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.
The famous ‘victory kiss’ occurred on August 14, 1945 on Military Island, at the intersection of Broadway and 7th Avenue between 43rd and 44th Streets, with re-enactors celebrating the event every five years. Several same-sex couples participated in the 70th anniversary, as well as two World War II veterans who were reportedly married on the same day 70 years prior.
While the reenactment has become a popular New York tradition, there are reports that the famed picture and inspiration for the event that featured in LIFE Magazine in 1945 was in fact showing a sailor forcibly stealing a kiss from the nurse. Many Americans have claimed to be the couple in the picture, with some saying that the kiss was unwanted. Critics have called the celebration of the photo the equivalent of normalising rape culture.
01:16Loved-up war commemorators came out kissing in abundance on Times Square, New York on Friday, with hundreds re-enacting the iconic lip-lock between a US. sailor and nurse which was immortalised by LIFE Magazine, in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.
The famous ‘victory kiss’ occurred on August 14, 1945 on Military Island, at the intersection of Broadway and 7th Avenue between 43rd and 44th Streets, with re-enactors celebrating the event every five years. Several same-sex couples participated in the 70th anniversary, as well as two World War II veterans who were reportedly married on the same day 70 years prior.
While the reenactment has become a popular New York tradition, there are reports that the famed picture and inspiration for the event that featured in LIFE Magazine in 1945 was in fact showing a sailor forcibly stealing a kiss from the nurse. Many Americans have claimed to be the couple in the picture, with some saying that the kiss was unwanted. Critics have called the celebration of the photo the equivalent of normalising rape culture.