George Takei Wants to Know: Are You Afraid of PDA?

He shared a video that he says should help end "the ick factor" in public discourse.

George Takei is using Upworthy to call for some long overdue cultural change: "Let's 'kick the ick' out of our public discourse," he writes.

"I've spoken often about the 'ick' factor — the visceral reaction many have to the sight of something unfamiliar, like two men kissing," writes Takei, who is a guest curator for the viral phenom website. "When I was growing up, the reaction toward interracial couples was similar, and that disgust over white/non-white intimacy was used to justify laws against interracial marriage. Many use their irrational discomfort over gay intimacy to justify discrimination."