Tuesday, October 31, 2017

When Did Touch Between Male Friends Become Taboo? Are we too afraid of going outside our own comfort zone to risk having the kind of friendships we long to have?


Men touching other men has become highly sensitive issue amongst men. This is due to the fact that society has placed an association between physical touch and it being a highly sexualized activity. Back then in the 18th and early 19th centuries, physical touch between men was the norm. Many men would get together and share activities such as cuddling and intimate behaviors without there being an acknowledgment of a homosexual act. Physical and emotional ties between male friends were considered beneficial to the growth and development of friendship. Intimacy between males has become a cause for concern in today’s society because it has drawn a boundary in which ways they can express affectionate behaviors towards one another. The article was written by a gay man that states he feels that “society gives me a free pass to be more emotional and physically demonstrative”. Although his statement is contradicting because he also mentions that he has to be very careful about how he expresses affection towards his close straight male friends. Once the label of “Homosexual” was created, society had started to place everything else into a category of its own, just as sexuality is categorized today. I agree with the author that the expression of emotion and intimacy in today’s society between two men should be more relaxed. Expression of emotion should be a healthy and innocent activity that men should think of as consensual and non-sexual in nature.

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