[Discussion] Body Contact in your country

[okapa]

So... I have discussed this with 2 members via pm and I recently posted on a topic about it, so I thought "Why not?".

What is normal and formal body contact between men and women in your country? What do you think of it in other countries?

Discuss.



My contribute:

I live in Portugal, near Spain, in Europe. When a man meets a woman they kiss each other on the cheek. Everytime we see someone we know we do the same.

The only exception is formal meetings, where the kiss is subtituted by a regular handshake, just like a man acknowledging another guy.

[Gigabitch]

It's only okay to kiss someone you're close with here. Some people are "huggers", but that's very casual. You wouldn't do that at work. Everybody pretty much shakes hands at work.

We're too worried about getting sued for being inappropriate.

[vashti]

In Los Angeles, it is common to kiss acquaintances and friends on the cheek, sometimes accompanied by a brief hug. You can tell if a person is genuine in their expression of affection by whether or not it is an "air" kiss or a wimpy hug. I honestly don't know why people do this - I think a handshake or simple "hello" is much more personable.

Formal contact is a handshake (unless you are extremely religious, and physical contact between unmarried people is forbidden).

[Gribble]

I get hugged at work. But I'm all studdly and stuff, so...

Handshakes. Pats on the back. Stuff like that's the norm. No kissing except between people close, like Giga said. I'm not too big a fan of being touched, though. I don't know where the hell your hand has been, but I do know where mine has, and quite frankly I wouldn't touch it if I were you.

[GrkScorp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by okapa

What is normal and formal body contact between men and women in your country? What do you think of it in other countries?

I live in NYC,

With women, it is what you make of it, except for the Upper-East/West sides of Manhattan where everyone is supposedly "too high class" to engage in such vile behavior..

So, with girls you meet, it's perfectly normal & acceptable to start off the interaction with a warm friendly hug..

With guys, you can either settle for a handshake (try and avoid if in NYC, most guys will try and break your hand to assert their manly dominance), or you can go for a man-hug, which is almost primative, but fun and friendly, somewhat childish to it creates a different and more open vibe from the get-go..

I've been to Greece almost each Summer before Sophmore year in college started, after that I was too busy with school work, and I haven't been back there ever since..

With girls, it's the norm to hug and kiss on both cheeks, although kissing on one cheek shows that you're more friendly with that person and there's no need to be fake-polite and kiss on both cheeks.. Also, it's normal for guy-girl friends which are just friends, even if they just met and talked for 30 minutes or so, to kiss on the lips, just a peck.. It doesn't mean anything..

With guys, it's the norm to man-hug and kiss on both cheeks, and give pats on the back and shoulders..

There's generally a lot of touching, Greece is a very touchy-feely place and everyone is friendly and open.. perhaps too friendly and open for most people.. I'm agree, that it's a bit of a stretch outside one's comfort zone if you're comming from the States.. But, all the butt pinching, hip-hugging, holding, casual/fun flirting/teasing, hugging, and kissing.. doesn't mean anything.. (I know, it's hard to phathom), but it really doesn't mean anything..

[Frasbee]

I like to substitute breast groping over handshakes when I greet women.

[Gigabitch]

Well, you're living in the right town for that, Fras. I say give it a shot.

[okapa]

Grk, in Greece man kiss each other? That's a weird thought over here, everyone's homophobic...

I only cheek kiss my father and my grandfather.

Gribble, tell me you wash your hands please ^^

About the air kisses... Those are really unpersonal, people just touch cheeks, it's weird.

[miSSleepy]

I think Australia's pretty much the same as America regarding physical contact etiquette. If a stranger kissed another stranger as a greeting, the receiver would be very thrown off, or possible punch the giver if they were a hetero man!

Flirting wise, a few touches here and there is normal.
Formal...handshake and maybe a pat on the shoulder.

EDIT: I was also reading a body language book and I thought something was interesting. They have found that people who were raised/lived in crowded cities have a smaller personal space, meaning that the talking-space between two strangers is much shorter than those who live in sparsely populated areas. For example, some people in the country who live in isolation find it uncomfortable to even give a handshake, because that requires the other person getting into their personal space.

[Mishanya]

Quote:

Originally Posted by miSSleepy

I think Australia's pretty much the same as America regarding physical contact etiquette. If a stranger kissed another stranger as a greeting, the receiver would be very thrown off, or possible punch the giver if they were a hetero man!

I don't know about that, I've kissed a lot of "stranger" girls in clubs and they seemed to enjoy that

Australia, Sydney

Kiss on the cheek and hug with friends, acquintances and people you know (Men to women) are all common. People are affectionate here. Though, a bit reserved inside the workplace.

As far as appropriate physical contact interaction between a guy and a girl. A hug when the girl is sad is appropriate. A pat on the back, is apparopriate as well depending on interaction. Then there's creative physical contact which can be used in guy's flirting arsenal

[walahaha]

In Asia, I guess the more common is a firm handshake....the most extend to a buddy hug...

Asian too narrow minded for kisses....

I saw a Belgium tourist the other day and she goes around gretting people with cheek kiss...

Ha..the asian were like " WTF"...

[miSSleepy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mishanya

I don't know about that, I've kissed a lot of "stranger" girls in clubs and they seemed to enjoy that

I guess that's contextual. And I bet you didn't just tap on her shoulder and smooch her! I'm sure at least a few words and a drink were given out.

[Mishanya]

Quote:

Originally Posted by miSSleepy

I guess that's contextual. And I bet you didn't just tap on her shoulder and smooch her! I'm sure at least a few words and a drink were given out.

Nope, just smooched without tapping


In a club

[vashti]

I don't think drunken girls should represent "normal" behavior, though. People tend to violate social norms when they are drinking.

[okapa]

That belgium girl thing is funny lol. By the way, I'm going to Ireland so I wonder how I should acknowledge people... Same?