I was just watching Love Island (don’t judge) and noticed two of the guys who are very good friends were sitting with their legs sort of crossed together. Like the way girls who are close friends would. It stuck out because you don’t really see that much but I was like hey that’s pretty cool, kinda more masculine (at least from my girl perspective) than guys that are all afraid to touch each other
I was just watching Love Island (don’t judge)
Have they gotten to the big reveal that it’s actually a peninsula yet?
I like that sort of thing. It can be nice to be close to a friend, even if it’s not as popular across a larger culture at the moment.
Yes. Absolutely. I’m the relatively rare hyper-social under-stimulated autistic type, in a friend group of people that aren’t into close contact and frequent interaction. It’s incredibly frustrating, but I’m distrusting of new people, and, ultimately, they’ve always been there for me. Despite my :3ness.
I had a smaller group that was into it for a little while, but that time has passed. Very, very passed. We don’t talk about that.
I’m glad yall have good people in your life. Every single person in my life is a liability.
Just another person to fuck you over. Just another obligation to be maintained. Just another human.
Local culture is not touchy feely, but we have no problem being naked around strangers in sauna/spa environment.
Hugging ✅
Snuggling - Not really a problem
Playful wrestling - Guaranteed the guy who instigated it is in the closet, same with most people who watch actual wrestling
Im one of those bookish introvert types and im old so I have learned to handle more interaction but no I don’t want more being socially acceptable. Im still ackward when my sisters hug me. Heck even a bit with my wife but its a good ackward.
No.
Yes, I wish it was more socially acceptable, but I still wouldn’t be physically affectionate. Because autism.
Same, also autistic. There are very few people I don’t dislike touching me.
It also depends where people touch me. Shake my hand: that’s okay; touching my head/hair, big no. Haircuts are super uncomfortable.
Depends on the friend group. My hiking friend group (about an even split of male/female) all hug. It started off as a joke, then stuck. Other groups, nope. Though, other groups have all fizzled out for me, mainly due to moving or my poor engagement as life moved on.
I can’t seem to shake off the loud “It’s Gay” inside my head when something like that happens. Now if it’s a kid or a senior at work patting me, sure no problem. Occasional hugs upon meeting friends after a while, handshakes etc are fine. Anything else is too awkward for me
I find it interesting to watch people’s behaviors in various circles. Some are very physically affectionate among friends or even acquaintances, others are super awkward, but then those super awkward people are incredibly physically affectionate with pets (wrestling with them in the grass, picking them up, snuggling with them on the couch, etc). It’s an interesting cultural dynamic to watch.
People have interesting social filters that drop at a moment’s notice when pets or alcohol are involved, haha.
I can’t seem to shake off the loud “It’s Gay” inside my head when something like that happens.
a very small part of me is glad i’m gay when i encounter one of the many ways that straight men are so terrified of being perceived as gay. it’s a bit like watching the video of a child freaking out in shallow water because he couldn’t touch the ground only to be corrected by being pushed into standing; except that this casual homophobia has MASSIVE impacts on people’s psyches and how they treat others.
Generally no, probably because many males when they end up in physicality make it some kind of dominance thing (playfully violence that’s just a little too much, “higher position” touches like hand on top of shoulder or physically leading other people and even the good old “measuring somebody one the firmeness of their handshake”). It’s not casual and friendly when there’s measuring and testing of others involved.
Outside close family, the only environment I’ve been in were things like hugs were normal was the Theatre world.
A hug is a standard greeting between well-acquainted men in Sweden, so yeah. I hug my friends and family.
With some, yea. Most are uncomfortable but I have a handful of dear friends who are okay with it, even find safety in it I believe. That’s certainly my takeaway
I hug my guy friends when I haven’t seen them in a while (e.g. my friends who live far away). Snuggling is super weird, and I don’t know of any guys who have done that. Feels like if I did, my wife would not be very happy. Affectionate fighting seems just over the top. Seems like something limited to children and movies.
I think the amount of physical affection I get from other men is fine. Don’t really need more
No, I don’t have close friends. I prefer not to touch or be touched anyway, particularly by other men.
I don’t mind if it became more socially acceptable, probably would be healthier overall. As long as it’s also acceptable to be able to request no touching.
Hugging friends – yes and easy. Snuggling – never. And this doesn’t apply only to men, it applies to women whom I don’t find attractive as well.
Physical affection from someone I don’t find attractive is super akward. Now I’m a cis straight male, so this principle applies to essentially all men.
P.S. OP, if you like more actual physical affection from your male friends, it’s maybe just time to come out of the closet. This is lemmy, nobody is really straight around here anyways
Snuggling – never. And this doesn’t apply only to men, it applies to women whom I don’t find attractive as well.
What about nonhuman animals? Do you dislike cuddly dogs?
Oh, I’m quite open and queer, but I know that not everyone is. Different cultures around the globe handle things differently, too. But I even see the difference on the more local scale, where some friends are quite physically affectionate, whereas others hug me like a frozen fence post, haha.
It’s interesting that women generally are fairly physically affectionate with friends, but men kind of run the gamut depending on family and social culture. And yet, even some of the most awkward are super physically affectionate with animals and pets, sometimes even at the same event.
I find stuff like that fascinating. Cultures evolve and change, with some aspects being more seasonal, and others more glacial. :)
