Personally I love physical displays of affection be it through hugging, kissing, arms around the shoulder-ing, or just being shoulder-to-shoulder. Which is weird because my family is pretty anti-contact, or maybe that explains why I like it. I'm fairly certain the only other person in my family who actually gives hugs as much as me is King Raven's sister.

In any case, how do you people feel about giving/getting physical displays of affection from anyone? If possible, could you explain why?

My uncle always hugs me very long. Vey very long.
With a chocolate bar in his pants.

I don't really touch people.

One of my cousins finds this amusing and will occasionally try for a handshake or a fist bump to see if social conditioning will override my personal preference to not be touching people. It doesn't.

I don't see why people are so into this close physical contact thing. It's a lot like praise, I suppose. I vaguely grasp the outline of it but really, it makes very little sense to me. I'd say it's all Greek to me but I actually have a very slight chance of recognising a few Greek words.

Alright, Time for a serious answer:

I myself dont mind. I wont initiate physical contact very fast, but if friends want to hug me or whatever I dont really mind.

It's their way of expression their friendship.

In all honesty, I'm an affectionate puppy. A picky one, at that... but I love physical contact nonetheless. I believe I instinctually choose who I'm affectionate over (not a crush-like affection, mind)... although, seemingly no one really wants to loan me a shoulder when I'm sad, or take care of me when it gets worse... I often lay down and curl up (yes, I know, real emo... shush! It's not a common thing...) Ah well. I like a hug more than anything. I wish I could hold on and never let go. I get this from my father (my mother is... she doesn't like being touched, unless it's from her children (a maternal thing, seemingly)). Hm... sucks when you have no one to hold you, though, never being able to stroke your hair and say it's all going to be alright. I always wished I had a shoulder to lean on when I'm down, but no one would want me. A wasteful puppy, I am. Mary's too far away, so no shoulder to lean on yet... my mother doesn't visit often and I haven't necessarily had a night alone with my mother, a day alone with her. Sucks being the oldest and it sucks when your mother has a bipolar disorder, along with having some type of negative charisma modifier (yes, Shane made a D&D funny) to make you run away.

Where am I going with this...?

I think what I'm trying to say, is that I am the type of person who is soft and cuddly like a puppy, and just as affectionate. I feel happy when those who I consider, at the very least, a "friend" make some type of physical contact... most preferably a hug.

Hm...

I can't really say why it is I like physical contact, especially around my boyfriend or close friends/family. I suppose it's kind of my way of assuring myself they are really there. Come to think of it, I get the feeling I treat it like another person would some expensive brand of chocolate or a rare treat. I would only get a hug if someone was leaving for a while or if my mom was feeling especially empty-nested. It isn't like I cling to people, I just wrap an arm around their shoulders, pull in, then release. The fact that I'm kinda big usually keeps the antisocial friends from hitting me. King's sister is a fan of hugs too, last time she was here she called me a great hugger.

Oh, I just remembered. In my final year or two of high school, I was engaged in a months long game of gay chicken which I always eventually won by being willing to slide my hand very high up the other boy's thigh. That was probably the last time I touched anybody purely out of pleasure/instinct - I like to win and he was a lot more squeamish about his sexuality than I was.

To this day there is only one man I won't play gay chicken with, and that's just because neither of us has scruples. We'd spend our lives in a loving homosexual relationship because neither of us would let the other one win. It's an undesirable scenario for him because he's heterosexual, it's undesirable for me because that sounds like a lot of work.

I like hugging people.

Yep.

I have days where I can't stand people touching me though. Not sure where that comes from.

It really depends how well I know a person. I'm fine getting a bro-grab if the person is someone I know well enough, otherwise I get a little autistic on them. Girls are always welcome though.

I snagged my boyfriend partially through playing that game. That and that bitch completely destroyed him emotionally and he was ripe for the picking.

huh, so he's bi?

Yep, but if I catch him proving that fact he'll be quite sorry.

I'm fine with physical contact, but I'm unlikely to initiate it. Like Ryan said, my family has a serious issue with physical contact for the most part. My brother and sister didn't seem to get that, but I got a bit of it. Of course, I only accept hugs from people I'm really close to. Normal friends, the ones I hang out with every so often but not with too much frequency, get the gangster shake/half hug thing.

Edit: The only one I regularly initiate physical contact with is my girlfriend... There are a few exceptions, but they're so rare they're not even worth mentioning further.

The only people I accept hugs or any form of affection from is VERY close family and crosser. That's it. I think affection should only be given to the people you care about most and the more you care for them, the more affection you can give. *shrugs* I only give internets huggles and other stuff because Im not really touching you guys. lol

Different societies have different takes. For instance while IN AMERICA!! (sorry, couldnt resist) the personal space bubble is sacred and extends about one to two feet from the face it isn't the same elsewhere. If any of you have ever traveled to continental Europe (France and Belgium in particular) don't get wierded out if every time you greet another man he kisses you on the cheek. And I've heard in some parts of Africa there's no such thing as personal space and they'll talk literally inches away from you just so they don't have to speak up.

In highschool i use to hug all the time, i luved hugs...

In college ppl arent so.. huggable sometimes.. though when there are huging movements it feels good XD

I think any physical contact is nice.. sometimes.

Im scared to touch anybody at my college *shudders*

Well just this week i made 2 new friends that hug instead of shake hands, I dunno. guess now that i'm single and the x isnt rly around me anymore i can talk to ppl the way i use to...
/shrug who knows

Well... this one guy has freaked me out at my school so much that I don't want to be touched by anyone there...

Well you can't just shun everyone because of one experience.

I can. And I do. Just about...

But then again, it wasn't just one experience... it was one experience that was repetitive.

Ah there are restraining orders for that sort of thing.

Or social isolation. Ah well. I pick and choose who I want in my own little world, and I deny everyone until I see someone who is quite different.

Everything I've possibly wanted to say to you angel has just been said by those two ^

Glad to be of service

Wait... I said something useful? '>.>

Same here.


He just hovers... I don't like him hovering over me all the time...

I don't think that's enough for a restaining order...


Great solution.


That's probably how we would had said it too mostly lol

Meh... back to the wasteland I go.

Hm... I still need snuggles...

Personally, I have never been too fond of hugs and stuff. I try to avoid it as much as possib;e, but I will occasionally let a one of my closest friends give me a hug. I woll only hug them if they are crying or seem devistated, but I always have felt rather awkward hugging them because its just not something I do reagularly.

Oh dear gods no, don't touch me. I hate touchy-feely, huggy-kissy.
I also dislike certain behaviors that involve touching someone else. Fist bumping, high-fives, noogies, someone draping an arm across my back and shoulder and giving me a friendly shake, etc. I just feel stupid when someone tries to initiate any of that with me. The gestures feel forced. I'll tolerate a business handshake, but that's about it.
I only tolerate hugs from family and friends I've known for years and years.

I would probably be willing to initiate all kinds of contact if the other person would be profoundly less comfortable than me, but that's a spiteful thing. Wasn't sure if it'd count.

thats just slightly evil and hilarious

I'm not a touchy-feely person. I LIKE hugs, and I don't mind getting them, and I will initiate them if the circumstances are right, but usually only with close friends and family members. I generally don't hug co-workers and the like, which is strange at my work, because many many many people there love giving out hugs. Lol. I don't shy away from it, and it doesn't really bother me, I'm just not inclined to participate unless it comes my way. *shrug*

I think physical contact is great. Nothing says great sex like finishing with a fist bump for victory, or a high five.

But seriously, while I'm not a huggsy guy with people, I do tend to talk with my hands, and that sometimes means I fist bump, pat, or grab. If one of my friends is really uncomfortable with touching or proximity, the rest of us initiate a koala hang, where we all slowly get closer and try to hang off of him like koalas.

I don't like physical contact, no.

I can do the fist bump thing with my dad, but that's about it. If I'm sitting on the floor and my mom is on the couch, and her leg/knee/foot/whatever even slightly touches my shirt and disturbs it a bit, I'll shudder away.

She, however, is very touchy feely. Imagine the fun.

Honestly...I find it strange about how my feeling about this has changed recently. Once upon a time, I hated physical contact of any kind...from anyone. And then...me being a dork...I joined the high school marching band. I have only been in for...about a month...and honestly, I'm more willing to except hugs from another sweaty musician right after two hour long practices in the high 100 degree heat than I am with my family. I'm also more willing to share food and stuff with them. I suppose it might have something to do with sharing a common goal and the heat and everything...

But if you aren't in band or not one of my five closest friends, don't expect to get any hugs or anything.

I have... issues about physical contact. I've only been hugged about a dozen times in the past 5 years, so I'm not really used to anybody offering me hugs at all. Anything more intimate is out of the question. I don't touch anyone else either because I assume that everyone else dislikes me and would be better off not having me try to hug them. A common occurence is when everyone start hugging each other, but always ignore me in the process, leaving me to cry in the corner...


What? Happiness and unicorns and rainbows.

Yeah, that. I think I can count on one hand the amount of hugs I've had in the past five years...maybe even ten years. It feels strange hugging family members. It's been so long since it's happened that it would seem really out of place. The last hugs I got from family were probably from grandma's, too...and those hugs always seemed weird. Between them being frail and me not being used to hugs...it felt really strange.

Friends...don't know what to say about that. I think I've only ever had hugs from about 3-5 friends. When my favorite teacher died, there might have been more...but honestly? All I remember are tears. I can't remember who did and didn't hug me. Point being...they were slightly weird, but nicer than family hugs. I think I liked my friends more, so I didn't mind as much. There was one girl who wouldn't stop hugging me for a few months...I always freaked out when she tried. By the end I enjoyed it just as much as her...but I wouldn't admit it, so she stopped cause she felt bad. Heh.

Honestly, I like hugs. Don't mind handshakes. Anything else? I've never done it/don't do it often/don't remember, so I couldn't really say. It's not that I'm against physical contact...it's just foreign to me. I enjoy hugs. They make me feel safe and warm and stuff. Good ones, anyway. Still...I don't know of anyone who is near me that I'd just go hug right now. Seems strange. I think it's a combination of a physically/emotionally deprived childhood mixed in with a tendency to be nervous around other people. Close physical combat usually makes it easy to tell someone is nervous. You know...sweating, shaking, ect. FAIL.

i don't like physical contact from random people...even from people i know well, like family, i never really liked hugs that much, or even touching...my mother called me a "broken glass child"...she said that when she tried to hug me as a child it was like i was full of broken glass, like hugging was actually painful to me...sooo, somehow i met and married probably the most affectionate man in the world, who would rather be touching/hugging/kissing/whatever on me than breathing...so yeah, i'm dumb...but i still refuse even remotely public displays of affection...

Sort of in the same ball park but, what do you all think of foot massages?
Are they innocent or do they intel something else...

I do not like to make public my affections.

Hugs are okay. Not big hugs. Preferrably handshakes.

Holding hands has never been on the top of my priorities, but I walked around a city today and there had to be five dozen couples doing it because it was a bit chilly out. Jealousy has set in to buff up the forbidden fruit aspect that honestly should not exist.

for some people, touching any part of the body doesn't seem to mean anything...even the naughty bits...so foot massage could be totally innocent...or really, really mean something i am a woman, and no woman anywhere ever gave anyone a straight answer...

I've never really been comfortable with touch. I guess I'm just very possessive of my personal space.

As far as touching other people goes, it depends. Hugs between family are great, but I worry that if I try to touch somebody else, they're not going to like it. =P It's gonna be awkward if I ever decide to start dating.

I think it depends on the person, just like everything else dealing with touching. For some people, holding hands could be as intimate as sex. Maybe more so if sex is nothing to them. It also probably depends on what you want it to mean. You can probably give a foot rub that's perfectly innocent and playful and then give a completely different foot rub that somehow seems seductive.

On a personal level? I would only desire to give a foot massage to a significant other. I don't know if it would be innocent or more...I just know that standing in heels probably sucks and I'd want her to feel relaxed and comfortable...and massages are good ways of accomplishing that.

A friend or two might be able to get me to do it if they sorta forced their feet in my way and demanded it...but I wouldn't care, so that would be completely innocent. I probably wouldn't even try,

It has been suggested that I become a masseur multiple times by friends and family alike. I enjoy giving massages, but there is a lack of people I am comfortable giving them to. My mom forces me to after making the mistake of giving her a foot/neck rub for her birthday one year, I've rubbed my sister's feet because she needed one after working on her feet for hours, and I give neck massages to some friends because they become caught between enjoying it and getting creeped out. I like flexing my fingers and hearing all the pops of my finger joints after a massage session. The only person to ever give me a massage is my dad, who somehow manages to completely debone me by rubbing my neck.

Hahaha! I'd LOVE a good foot massage, if I could stand one. My feet are sooooo ridiculously ticklish it's unbelievable. I can't go for pedicures because I'd probably kick the poor person attempting to pretty up my toes. XD If anyone's hands even come within the vicinity of my feet they involuntarily freak out. Even *I* can't touch my feet, or scratch an itch at the bottom of them...and you aren't supposed to be able to tickle yourself. O_o

This thread reminds me of this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr3x_RRJdd4

Which is a video clip of an organization called "Free Hugs".
Kinda hard to be sad or anything after watching that video.

so laughed...flying hugs!!!...though i would never, ever, hug a stranger, even if he did look like jesus...

I'd give anyone a hug, mainly cause I'm so friendly.