Touch Isolation: How Homophobia Has Robbed All Men Of Touch
“In America in particular, if a young man attempts gentle platonic contact with another young man, he faces a very real risk of homophobic backlash either by that person or by those who witness the contact. This is, in part, because we frame all contact by men as being intentionally sexual until proven otherwise. Couple this with the homophobia that runs rampant in our culture, and you get a recipe for increased touch isolation that damages the lives of the vast majority of men.And if you think men have always been hands-off with each other, have a look at an amazing collection of historic photos compiled by Brett and Kate McKay for an article they titled: Bosom Buddies: A Photo History of Male Affection. It’s a remarkable look at male camaraderie as expressed though physical touch in photos dating back to the earliest days of photography.”
Platonic touch is crucial to human development and happiness, and this article discusses the damage done to everyone when two men can’t casually touch without fear of backlash, and when the burden of physical affection is solely placed on women.
I bolded that last one.
I had a breakdown at college from lack of physical touch after leaving my serious boyfriend at home. I can’t imagine living a whole life like this.Hugs are fucking important.
When my hubby was deployed to Iraq he said the one thing he missed the most was being hugged. Because you can best believe a bunch of army guys aren’t going around hugging each other (especially not guys his age)